


The Hero's Secret

by DragonTamer447



Category: Ferriswheel Shipping - Fandom
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Hiding in Plain Sight, Touko is a mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 99,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25640158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonTamer447/pseuds/DragonTamer447
Summary: Touko White was going on a trip with her dad before leaving Johto to go to Unova, but when she meets and befriends a powerful Pokemon, her life turn flips upside-down. She realizes she can talk to Pokemon, but develops an extreme fear of Fire and Lightning. She goes through life, hiding the scars of the past, until she meets someone exactly like, yet someone totally opposite herself.
Relationships: Anthea/ OC, Bel | Bianca/Iris, N | Natural Harmonia Gropius/Touko | Hilda
Kudos: 31





	1. Meetings of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I've been a long time lover of Generation V and the N x Touko shipping community, and have wanted to write fanfics for years, but always figured I would suck at it, so I never did. Now, I've decided to write them both for my own enjoyment and to improve upon my writing, so even if it sucks, I can make it better! If you have any constructive feedback, go ahead and tell me! I'd love to use it to better myself and my work!

Touko White was excited. She wasn’t just excited, she was ecstatic. Her father was finally taking her to a place he was researching. Her mother had decided that she wanted to leave for Unova a few months ago, and as a gift to his daughter before she left Jhoto in a month, he was going to bring her to a place he loved. He would take her to the tower that the three beasts of nature had been born a century and a half ago. She loved his stories about the years of research and discovery he had undergone there. As they approached the tower, (which was rebuilt many years ago) the 10 year old squealed with excitement. Her father brought her here for that exact reason.

“So do you like your going away gift?” he asked with a grin, his daughter’s smile making this already amazing place seem better.

“I love it!” She exclaimed as she gave her dad a hug like some sort of vice grip “and when I visit, we are gonna go to the coolest places! Even ones you haven’t seen yet!”

Her father smiled at the young girl as he imagined her helping him with some ancient ruins “It’s a promise” he bellowed before continuing up the staircase to the tower.

She calmed down some, and they began to climb the tower. She ran ahead some, and her father tried to keep up, but he couldn’t. Touko was very fast for her size. They spent hours there, getting pictures, singing old songs, and just enjoying themselves. They didn’t know how quickly that was about to change. 

At about 9:30, they stood close to the bottom, her father was walking down the stairs and Touko was taking one last picture before she felt the shock from the lightning strike the tower, though the first didn’t knock her down, the second and third did, and for the first time in her life she was beyond afraid. She had never been a huge fan of lightning, but this terrifying. She then saw three different fires one from the top (which she could see through the hole in the middle of the spiraling staircase) and massive fires on both sides of her. What happened next just confused her, as she tried to get up, it started snowing, which was strange as it was neither winter nor was it supposed to have any sort of rain, hail, or snow. It picked up and soon it was a blizzard. Despite this, the fire was still burning, almost as if it was fighting to be more intense, which Touko noted after an ember burned her leg. She managed to get up, and ran for the stairs, but she slipped on the slick snow, and went face first into the hard floor. Nevertheless, she kept going, and almost ran into another raging fire. She panicked at this and ran up. She didn’t know why, she knew it was a bad idea, but she acted on instinct. Then she saw  **them** . Circling each other, not attacking, just sitting there. They must have heard her gasp because they all turned and looked at her as if it was a synchronized and practiced motion. Touko had never been more terrified, and the girl couldn’t take it anymore. She had no idea what to do. She was scared. She crumpled to her knees like someone had just punched her in the stomach, and just broke out in tears, screaming incoherent things. One of the trio must have understood her fear, because it approached her, trying not to be threatening, but failing miserably. The pokemon approaching the crying girl nuzzled her face up, and saw her crying, cut up, bleeding face. It took another step and the floor caved in underneath the two.

Her father was beside himself. ‘What if she got hurt? I don’t think I could live with it if my daughter died because of my inability to help.’ He tried to shake the thought, but he knew he should have waited. He was already heading down the stairs when the lightning struck, which threw him back, and had hit his head on the concrete stairs. He knew he had a concussion and was feeling it. He yelled until he couldn’t yell any longer, yelling for help. No one came, and he realized something odd. It was snowing. This confused the man, and he was only snapped out of this a few minutes later when he heard the tower collapse behind him.

  
  


**N, Ghetsis**

Ghetsis was irritated. He simply could not understand his child. Even after half a dozen warnings, N wasn’t up and ready at the correct time, despite having enough sleep in Ghetsis’ mind.

“Natural.” Ghetsis said with venom dripping down his words. No response. “Natural Harmonius Gropius, get up!” he practically screamed as the young boy shot up in response, quickly getting up, standing and assuming a polite, almost soldier like stance.

“How many times have I told you to be up at 8 AM every day” Ghetsis hissed

“I am sorry fath-”

“You are not to call me father. I have told you this before. You are to call me Ghetsis.” the man said coldly. N flinched. “Furthermore, as the future king of Team Plasma, you must be able to be ready when your subjects need you most” he said, almost mockingly, “and today you will meet another friend!” N is filled with dread at this, as he knows what it means. He knows he will have to bear witness to another abused pokemon. He wondered what horrible things it’s previous trainer had done to it, and as soon as Ghetsis leaves the room he quickly changes into his normal clothes, readying himself for it.

_ “Why must trainers be so cruel, it’s as if they don’t have a care for what my friends suffer with”  _ he asked the pidove he now held in his hands, which had a wing that looked like it had been snapped by a human hand at one point. The pidove turned its head, very quietly saying to the young boy

“ _ I don’t know. I never thought I did something wrong.”  _ N shook his head

_ “You didn’t my friend, you were injured due to someone’s greed” _

_ “Do you think so?” _

_ “Absolutely”  _ said the boy, softly hugging his new friend

“He will never fly again due to those idiotic trainers, what a shame.” N quickly turned to look for the voice, and found its owner: one of the sages had entered the room.

“Never?”

“Never. This is why your father shows you these things. Not to be cruel, but to show you the first step you must take to make the world a better place for pokemon.”

N sat there for a few minutes and pondered. He looked at all off his friends (which included a couple dozen pokemon, all abused, and all chosen because of that including his best friend zorua) and asked the sage one question

“How do I start?” The sage smiled.

“Come with me. Your father will help you with that.”

With that, N followed the sage to his father, where they would begin N’s new battle to free his friends.

  
  
  
  


**Touko, The pokemon, Touko’s Father**

  
  


The legendary woke several hours later, hearing an odd tearing sound, looking down near its knee, the pokemon saw a piece of blue denim that was presumably put on as a bandage. The Denim was now laying on the floor, torn by the enormous size of the pokemon’s leg muscle, which it had tensed up when it awoke. It looked to the side, and saw the child that had helped it, still covered in her own blood. It took a step forward, and immediately realized why the bandage had been there, as it’s cut opened and started bleeding, but it didn’t care. It walked over to the girl, who cried out in surprise when she saw it approaching her

‘Interesting. She bandaged me, and got close to me, but is still afraid of me. Although I suppose it is warranted.’ Suddenly the large blue pokemon realized something, it recognized the room they were in. It was brought back to life 150 years ago in that room. The pokemon drooped its ears. It didn’t have memories of what it was before, but it remembered itself being so scared and confused. It looked at the girl, and saw the same fear, reflected in her sky blue eyes. The large pokemon walked slowly over to the Touko, sitting down next to the human that reflected it so. It felt Touko’s heartbeat quicken, and then calmed down, as the large pokemon layed next to her and nuzzled her hand. In that moment, it realized ‘She is like I must have been. Fearful of death. Tired. I know I should let nature take its course, but I simply cannot.’

“She reminds me of myself” the legendary said softly

Touko went pale. ‘Did I just hear the giant pokemon speak? What is going on?’ Touko was so confused she decided to at least give an idea that just popped into her head a try. She worked up the courage over the next hour before finally giving it a shot.

“Can you understand me?”

“Of course, although you can’t understand me.”

“But I just did” The pokemon just stared at her.

‘What is this girl talking about? Humans have never been able to understand us.’ They sat for a few minutes in silence until the pokemon’s curiosity took over “Okay child. I wish for you to do one thing; answer three questions in the order I give them, and I will believe you truly can understand me.” Touko nodded, curious as to what it would ask.

“What is your name, age, and hometown?”   
  


“My name is Touko White. I’m 10 years old and my hometown is Azalea town” The pokemon’s eyes narrowed, causing the young girl to tense up.

“So you can understand me. How long have you been able to understand pokemon?”

“Maybe an hour ago when you said something about me reminding you of yourself” The pokemon growled. Not to threaten her, just to try and make her stop talking. This didn’t work. “How do I remind you of yourself?”

“I would rather not talk about it.” Touko, looking disappointed by this, still decided not to continue pressing.

“Okay. But I would like to ask two questions.” 

“Fine. as long as they aren’t questions like your first.”

“First, what were you three doing before I broke down earlier”

“We were coming here to revisit a place of great importance. The destruction that you were caught in was the impact of all of us being back at this _ place. _ ” Touko chose not to question the legendary any further on its distaste for the tower, which pleased the pokemon.

“Well, what is your second question”Touko sighed, readjusted, and finally got ready.

“What is my name?” This didn’t shock the pokemon, rather, what shocked it was just how intently the girl was listening, even leaning forward to make sure she caught it all.

“My name is Suicune. Legendary beast of water. I have been called many things by your people, but the name I like the most is the ‘Aurora pokemon’.” With this the roof broke open and the fire department and paramedics rappelled into the cave. Finally getting the two out of the chamber of Suicune’s painful memories. 


	2. The Otter and the Fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Touko, Bianca, and Cheren received their Pokemon from the professor, they start on their journey. Unbeknownst to them, this would be the first meeting between Touko, Team Plasma, and a strange man named N who claims he can talk to Pokemon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! This chapter was fun to write! I don't know how well it turned out (my brain is a total mess 24/7) but still, fun to write! I hope you guys enjoy!

So much had happened so quickly. Suicune decided for whatever reason to stay with Touko (For reasons that she could not understand no matter how hard she tried, but she was grateful for the friend) and eventually found an empty pokeball that was surprisingly nice looking despite the fact it had been found in a forest, and had been abandoned. In her last month in Johto, Touko had befriended and caught a legendary, talked with wild pokemon using her newfound abilities, and helped her father deal with his head injury. On her last day, she stood at the airport with her mother, excited to go start a new life. She gave her father one last hug, checked to make sure Suicune was with her, and flew to Unova to start a new chapter in her life.

Seven years had passed since the day Touko had met Suicune. She had kept her friend and her ability to talk to pokemon hidden from her two new friends, two people named Cheren and Bianca. She was taller than both of them, with Cheren wearing glasses and always talking about something geeky (which Touko could get behind) and Bianca, who was klutzy, hyper, and EXTREMELY slow to get up in the morning. Touko was also slightly older than Cheren, and a year and change older than Bianca, which is why today was important. In Unova, people were given a pokemon at age 16, and since she was 17, she fit the bill. Touko had just been waiting on her friend to turn 16 so they could go together, which she had promised her blonde friend. Touko was being given a starter to help fill her a device known as a pokedex for the professor that lived in Nuvema town. Not even the professor knew of Suicune, and Touko was fine with that. Touko had silently been training with Suicune for those seven years, but because she couldn’t catch pokemon before 16, and knowing it would have blown her cover to do so, she didn’t catch any others before now. Even if she wanted to, Suicune was so powerful, its attacks would more often than not just destroy everything. Now, Touko was excited, as she could finally go out and talk to the pokemon of the world. In Bianca’s eyes however, she wasn’t excited enough. Bianca burst through the door to Touko’s room, with Touko still asleep (her alarm still not having gone off) Bianca dragged Touko out of bed and the bewildered teen could not figure out what was going on

“Touky! Wake up! It’s the big day!” Touko just stared at her groggily.

“Bianca it is only 8:30. Why are you bothering me?”

“Because silly, if I didn't, who would?”

“Cheren, my mom, Herdier, and like everyone else. Also, aren’t you like, the exact opposite of a morning person?”

“Well, the more the merrier! That and this isn’t just any morning! Today we get to finally go into the world!” Touko just stared at her friend before falling backwards onto her bed

“Five more minutes.” 

“No more Minutes!” Bianca squealed immediately as she dragged Touko out of bed and down the stairs to eat breakfast.

After Breakfast, Touko went back to her room, changed, waited until Bianca left the house, and then released Suicune from the pokeball.

“I swear, that girl has had WAY too much coffee this morning.”

“How do you two drink that stuff? It's so bitter!” Touko smirked at her friend. Over the last 7 years, she learned that Suicune had an extreme sweet tooth. Whenever her mom made rock sugar candy, Suicune would just chow down on it. Touko was convinced that her pokemon could bite clear through a steel beam. It couldn’t stand bitter things however, and generally avoided such things. 

“You are strange Aurora.” Touko cooed, knowing that the nickname was something Suicune was secretly very proud of having, no matter how the legendary tried to cover it up. 

“So are you, my friend. You along with those you keep in your company.”

“Hey strange people are the only ones I seem to be able to make friends with.” Suicune hated when she said things like that. Not because it wasn’t true, but because the pokemon knew that it was true. It hated that despite living long enough to have been able to experience the world in any way it pleased, it would never be able to help its only real friend achieve any sort of normality in her life.

“Well, we better get going, don’t want to be late for the start of our adventure.” Suicune nodded and was recalled into its pokeball, which was put in her bag. She hugged her mom, and went over to Professor Juniper’s lab. The professor’s lab was a large, white building with green trim and a small area for outdoor experiments. On the inside, it had white walls with motivational posters and photos everywhere. It had several tables that each had specific purposes in the research of pokemon, from emotion, to strength, to the research of the very rare shiny pokemon (Which remained mostly empty due to the scarcity of pokemon like this.) Touko had always helped with the experiments in her free time, albeit mostly to talk to the pokemon in the research and see how they felt about both their trainers and about the research. Now Touko and her two friends were finally getting to go and see the world that fascinated them so. Touko was very accustomed to pokemon at this point, and even though the others didn’t know it, she was very skilled at battling, as she had been learning how with her secret friend for nearly a decade. This however, didn’t get in the way of her excitement. Touko wasn’t just interested in filling the pokedex or battling pokemon, but also making a new friend that she could always talk to. Touko knew she wasn’t good at making human friends. She was a weird mix of Bianca’s ‘so crazy people can’t keep up’ and Cheren’s ‘silence is the best part of a conversation.’ She also picked up on Suicune’s strange way of speaking, with nuance and wisdom behind her words. She could always do well with pokemon though. Whether they were tough or mellow, or somewhere in between, she always felt comfortable around them. 

“Well who wants to pick first?” Professor Juniper called from the upstairs of her lab, where she was surveying the three teens.

“Touko should pick first!”

“That would make sense” Touko just glared at her friends. She shrugged it off, and looked at the three. She looked at Tepig first, and decided against it. She flinched at the memory of the burning tower, and moved to the right. Both to look at Oshawott and hide the painful memory of fear from showing on her face, finding familiarity in the water type, she chose it without a second thought. Just as she did this, Bianca’s face got even brighter.

“I want the one on the left!”

“Now hold on!” Cheren just kind of looked at his friend and smirked. “Well that’s fine, I wanted Snivy anyway!” Touko just giggled. This made both of her friends happy because they swore that even though she always said otherwise, her smile could light up the darkest places in the world.

“So do you guys wanna battle?” Cheren’s brow furrowed

“Are you sure the professor wants us doing that here?”

“Of course you can battle here! Just try not to damage the equipment!” Touko saw them grabbing their pokeballs, and she panicked. Touko didn’t want to battle. She was fine with battling, and did it quite frequently in secret, but she was not a good actor. Touko was an excellent liar, but she wouldn’t be able to pull the ‘rookie trainer’ part that she needed to.

“Actually, I need to go do something for my mom before we head out. She wanted me to help her set up some stuff for when I’m away.” 

“But Touky, this will be our first actual battle! You don’t want to miss out on that!” Touko should have seen that one coming. Her excuse was pretty poor all things considered, but she should have figured it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Regardless of whether I want to or not I still have stuff I need to do. Besides, we are still going to take our first step together, aren’t we?” Bianca lit up

“We are? I didn’t think you would take me seriously!” Cheren and Touko just shook their heads. Bianca’s family never took her seriously. It irked Cheren, and it was probably the only thing that had ever made Touko seriously mad. Bianca had more heart than most anyone alive, but because people just saw her as a child, incapable of complex thought, they never treated her ideas with respect. It was probably the one of the only things that she had seen that madeBianca physically wilt and Touko made sure everyone knew how much it pissed her off. So much so that when Bianca’s family came over for dinner one night, Touko ended up putting her knife through the solid oak table when it came up. Touko was very protective of her friends, from Bianca’s belittlement to Cheren’s younger years of being bullied, she was always the one who stood by them. Touko never thought about it, but Suicune would sometimes take note, usually of the aftermath. Touko having a couple broken fingers after punching someone hard enough to put them in the hospital, or as she was bandaging her hand after the knife she had slammed through the table splintered into her hand. These were the times Suicune saw it’s friend willingly hurt herself to defend those she cared about. As for Cheren, his resentment was not as extreme, but he wasn’t a huge fan.

“Bianca, you know how much Touko and I hate it when you say that. When have we ever not taken you seriously? Remember that one winter where you suggested we sled off the roof and Touko’s response was ‘let’s do it’? Or how about when you suggested that we go and look for that injured purrloin? No here would ever call your ideas stupid.” Professor Juniper grinned.

“Well it is good to see that your friends have your back Bianca. They are willing to tell anyone off, even you, for going after you. Anyway. Touko, when you see your mother remind her we are going out on wednesday for dinner!” Touko turned as she went out the door.

“Will do! Thank you again for the pokemon Professor!”

Touko ran back to her house with a sense of urgency, nearly taking her mother out in the process.

“Hi Mom!”

“Hi sweetie. Did you and your friends go see Aurea to pick up your new pokemon?”

“Yeah! I chose an Oshawatt, but I haven’t taken him out yet.”

“Did you not battle your friends?” Touko’s excited smile turned into a hesitant one.

“No. I didn’t want them questioning why I seemed to be decent at it because to their knowledge, I have never even held a pokeball.”

“You can’t hide Suicune or your gift forever. Someday someone will find out.”

“I know. I just don’t want it to be either of them.”

“Why not?”

“Because they will not take it well. At all. Considering for the better part of a decade, I have been lying to them about it.” With this Touko closed her door and let her Suicune out of its ball. She then decided she would get her new Oshawott out and introduce it to both Suicune and her unique communicative abilities.

“Well hello little guy” Oshawott respectfully bowed.

“You certainly weren’t the kind of person I was expecting”

“What does that mean?” Oshawott just froze. It then turned and looked at the large pokemon sitting behind her, with a knowing smile on its face.

“Yes young one, this human can understand us. She has been able to for seven years at this point.”

“If that is the case, I am deeply sorry if I offended you earlier. I will do better in the future.” Touko giggled as it bowed its head.

“No offense taken. I don’t think any pokemon I have ever met has been able to figure it out before being told. Anyways, we didn’t introduce ourselves before, but my name is Touko White, and this is my friend Aurora.”

“Welcome to the fold, young one.”

“Thank you two for the warm welcome. I will stay as long as long as you will have me” 

“Well we better get going. I will explain more along the way to the next town, but first I have to go meet up with some friends.” Touko explained this quickly as she recalled Suicune and motioned for her new pokemon to follow her. Touko said goodbye to her mother, packed a few things in case she needed them, and went out to meet her friends.

“Took you long enough. Are you sure you weren’t just going to take a nap?”

“I’m sure Cheren. Are you guys ready to head out?”

“Well Bianca seems ready and I sure am, so yes.”

“Come on you two! We have to make it to Striaton before nightfall!

“Well then, let’s take the first step.” They stepped onto a line formed by brick that marked where unsupervised children were not allowed to go any farther.

“On three?” Cheren just nodded at Touko. “One, Two, Three!” They all stepped over the brick and turned to see Professor Juniper running up to them.

“Sorry guys! I forgot to give you pokeballs!” Cheren just stared flatly at her.

“It’s quite alright Professor. You could have just met up with us in Accumula town.” Touko smirked.

“Well Cheren where would the fun be for the professor then? Besides, now that she is here, we don’t have to backtrack if we see something cool. That and we can ask her questions about how to actually complete the whole ‘catching the pokemon’ process without giving a concussion to every pokemon we try to catch.”

“You know, you two are super silly sometimes!”

“Right back at you Bianca. Anyway, will you show us how to correctly catch a pokemon please?”

“Well now Touko, what kind a professor would I be if I just let my assistants reinvent the wheel? Come now you three, I will show you what you need to know.” The professor showed them on a nearby lillipup, and she then quickly let them try. It took Touko a couple of tries, but she eventually got it, where she promptly released the pokemon and gave the ball back to the professor.

“You know that you can keep the pokemon you catch right? A huge part of pokemon isn’t just catching them, but spending time with them.”

“I know. I just want the pokemon I catch to be pokemon that I catch by myself, without help unless it is necessary.”

“You are a strange one Touko. Do you know that?”

“I’m reminded every day. Did you want to go with us to Accumula town?” Juniper smiled.

“Sure why not. Got nothing else to do for a bit.”

“That reminds me, you and my mom are supposed to have dinner tonight”

“Ah yes. Thank you for reminding me about that. Vanessa is always the one that remembers these things. Anyway, we're off! Unless you don’t want to make it to Sitraton by tonight.” Touko and the group nodded and set off until Touko noticed something in the grass.

“Hey guys, why don’t you go on ahead, I saw something over there and want to go check it out.” She said, motioning to a small area of grass up a hill.

“Okay. We'll meet in town then.” Bianca nodded at Cheren, agreeing to his meet up plan. Touko walked away from the group, moving up the hill until she heard a tiny whimper next to her, she spun around and looked down to see a small, black and red fox. Touko looked at it more closely and saw that it had a deep cut on its ankle and it looked like it had a broken rib or two.

“What happened to you little guy?

“My trainer and I kept losing to a gym leader so after the last battle, he was finally tired of it. He took me out here and left me here. I can’t say I blame him” Touko quickly swiveled her head, making sure there was no one around her to hear her talking to this pokemon.

“Well then you need to have a little more self respect. He abandoned you here because you weren’t the best fighter. Good people don’t abandon their friends when those friends don’t suit them anymore.” Touko growled, venom dripping from her words. The small pokemon was both amazed at the accuracy of her response, and at the fact she held it to high standards despite knowing nothing about it. “And furthermore, gym leaders are tough. It is their job, so don’t feel like you are just a failure just because you couldn’t beat one. 

“That may be your opinion, but my old trai-” Touko snarled.

“It. Is. Not. Up. For. Debate. What your trainer did was selfish. You did nothing wrong, you are obviously loyal even after everything, and you still think lowly of yourself. What gives him the right to leave you out here, alone and injured?”

“He didn’t abuse me or anything!”

“So? You are on a hill, bleeding and suffering because he felt as though he deserved the gym badge. No two ways about it. Speaking of which, let me get you a bandage.” The pokemon just looked at the girl, shocked. It was very clear that she was pissed. He didn’t feel the anger directed at him though, rather, directed on his old trainer. He pondered on this until it felt a sharp pain. It snapped up to see the young girl holding a rag covered in blood. The pokemon looked next to the girl and saw a small container labeled ‘alcohol’. 

“What was that for?!”

“It’s to make sure the wound doesn’t get infected. Now come here and let me finish.” He got the feeling she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “There we go, all done. Well with the leg at least. I do not know how I intend to fix the ribs though.”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, could I travel with you? I don’t like being alone, and other zorua are really hard to find.” He winced from the pain of his injuries, but also from the painful thought of her saying no and leaving him here. He really didn’t like being alone.

“Sure! Besides, you need proper medical attention anyway and you seem to have nowhere else to go!” After looking back up at her face and seeing a smile of pure joy, something it never saw with its old trainer, the Zorua yipped happily as she pulled out an empty pokeball, and caught him. Touko happily put the pokeball into her bag and continued to Accumula town. Touko eventually made it to Accumula town, where she saw her friends and the professor sitting there looking on into a crowd. She listened to the speech for a second but walked around the crowd until almost slamming into someone wearing an older get up. She backed up a little, kind of freaked out. Touko looked the tall man head to toe, seeing green hair, a cube of some sort on his waist, a white shirt over a slightly longer sleeved black shirt. “Excuse me sir, I need to get by.” The tall man looked over and slightly down at the girl, moving back as she passed. Touko opened the door and walked up to the nurse.  
“Hello ma’am, would you like us to heal your pokemon, or would you like a room for the night?”

“The healing option please.” Touko waited for a few minutes while the nurse healed her pokemon, picking up a magazine to pass the time because she didn’t really want people to walk in and see her reading any of the novels she had brought. By her own admission she was a romanticist, and was usually reading either a raunchy love novel, or she was reading a nerdy nonfiction book. She didn’t have any of those left though, so she hoped there was a library in the next town. She really didn’t want someone asking her for something to read with her having to hand them a mushy love story. When the Nurse was done, she walked over and picked up the pokeballs, walking outside to get fresh air. Touko was very much surprised that the speech was still going on, but decided she really didn’t want to listen so she just took a right and danced around the edges of the crowd. She was almost out when someone in chainmail looking gear walked out in front of her. 

“Shouldn’t you be listening to your elders kid? After all, you ARE a trainer and need to listen to his words of wisdom.”

“No thanks. I have friends I need to meet over there, and I am already running late.”

“Perhaps I wasn’t being forward enough, you are staying until the end. Whether you want to or not.” He put his hand on her shoulder and she drew her pocket knife and slammed it through his hand. The speech stopped and the entire crowd turned toward them.

“Do not touch me. You have no right to touch me. I will go where I please, without your interference.” She walked over to him kneeling down to look the man in the eyes.

“Knight, what just happened?” Touko turned to see the owner of the voice, a tall, green haired man that looked like a very stressed fifty year old.

“This little wench stabbed me! She just randomly attacked me!”

“The fuck are you talking about? You grabbed me! I felt threatened so I stabbed you. It was not just me randomly attacking a stranger. I don’t generally attack random strangers.” The tall man just looked at the bleeding person’s hand with her knife still stuck in it, and back to Touko.

“What is your name girl?”

“Sure let me just tell my name to the scary looking leader of the guy who just grabbed an underage teen. What’s the worst that could happen?” Whatever support these people were getting died when Touko said that.

“Your sarcasm is noted, as is your fiery personality. You will answer the question, and then you will shut up and listen. Do you understand?” Touko just stood there, shocked at his words, not knowing what to do, she turned back to the grunt. Touko then proceeded to grab her small knife and pull. The grunt whimpered. “Young lady, I am waiting.”

“Go to hell.” He was starting to look rather displeased. He got off the grass and walked over to her. Before he could reach the girl, the green haired man from earlier stepped in between them.

“That is enough for now.” The two men stared each other in the eye for a moment before the older of the two smiled.

“Very well. We will be back. This is just the beginning though. Team Plasma! We are finished here!”

“Yes lord Ghetsis.” One of the grunts motioned to his comrades and they started moving, grabbing banners and a podium. Then they walked away and were gone.

“Thank you for stopping him.” The green haired man turned toward her, and smiled.

“You are welcome. If you don’t mind me asking, and if you won’t stab me, what is your name?” Touko looked down, realizing that she might have slightly overreacted to both the so called ‘Ghetsis’ asking for her name, and the man grabbing her shoulder. She looked down in shame at her blood covered knife. She then pocketed it.

“My name is Touko. Sorry about all of that.” She said, still looking down. She looked around and noticed the crowd had started to drain around them, keeping a wide berth around the girl. “What’s your name?”

“My name is N.”

“Just N? Like the letter?”

“Yes. Or like the mathematical letter for natural numbers.” Touko looked lost.

“Please speak english.” The man just cocked his head.

“I am speaking english. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Touko just shook her head, not going to try to explain it to this naive sounding man.

“TOUKO ARE YOU OKAY?” The two teenagers turned toward the voice and Bianca tackled Touko, wrapping her arm around the taller girl’s neck.

“Bianca! I can’t breathe! Let go!” Bianca let go after a few seconds, as the professor and Cheren walked up.

“You need to be more careful, Touko. You could have gotten hurt!”

“I know that Professor, I didn’t do anything though!” Bianca pulled Touko off the ground.

“Well, let’s go! We have to make it to Striaton before nightfall!”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks again N! I need to go get more pokeballs before we go though.” She smiled and the trio moved to the professor, bowed their heads, and went to the store to get what they needed. 

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I would like to see your pokemon.” Touko just looked back, confusion filling her face.

“My pokemon?” N flipped his hand up and whistled and a Purrloin jumped off a nearby roof, landing in front next to him, then walking out in front of him.

“Yes. You are a trainer, I presume?” Bianca looked awestruck, unable to comprehend what she had just seen. She started shaking Cheren and basically squealing about how cool it was. Cheren just looked shocked, which was difficult to make him look like. Touko just looked at him and tilted her head.

“You didn’t strike me as the type to battle, no offense.”

“None taken. I usually avoid battling, however, I wish to speak to your pokemon.” Touko’s expression was one of utter shock.

‘This guy can talk to pokemon too? Why is he so open about it? Is he just so confident that he can talk to them in public, or does he not know that it makes him look and sound like a total nutjob?’ Cheren’s voice snapped her out of it

“Are you okay Touko? You were staring off into space.” Touko nodded at Cheren.

“I’m just tired.” She turned back toward N. “Okay, let’s battle.” N just smiled

N’s Perspective(First Person)

I wanted to talk to her pokemon. She hadn’t paid any mind to Father’s speech, so I had assumed she was a trainer. Statistically speaking, people that ignore empowered speeches tend to disagree with them. This girl fit into that, however, her reaction to everything else is anomalous. She was grabbed by a grunt, so instead of shrinking back in fear, she stabbed a small knife clear through his hand. When she was put on the spot by Father, she cursed at him. At least I assume that is what she did. I am certain she wasn’t saying nice things, but I really couldn’t say anything else for certain. I snapped myself out of the train of thought and focused on her pokemon. A small Zorua sat in front of her, it looked young and raring to go. I looked closer and saw a scar on its leg. I scowled.

“What did you do to him?” I was pissed. She had hurt another one of my friends, all to put her further to her goal.

“I found him in the forest. He was injured and alone, so I bandaged him up and he... followed me. I didn’t do anything to him. I found him this morning, so I didn’t really have time to hurt him.” I wasn’t satisfied by her answer, so I turned to the Zorua.

“Is she telling the truth?”

“She left some stuff out, but yeah. She rescued me.” I turned back to see her face had gone white. Well, more white. She was already very pale, although not albino. She would have had to be from a place that doesn’t get much sun. She must have been surprised that I could actually talk to them.

“Your pokemon says you speak the truth, so I will believe you.” The look of surprise vanished from her face and she stared blankly at me, almost as if she was running something through her head. 

“Zorua! Use scratch!” Her Zorua hit my friend straight in the chest, causing it to double back. Her pokemon had obviously been trained quite brutally, but she had only had them for a short time. Whoever had trained this pokemon overdid it. The Zorua bounced back. “Geez Zorua, don’t try to rip it in half! We aren’t trying to hurt it that badly!” Purrloin staggered to its feet. The Zorua nodded, understanding that it wasn’t supposed to attempt to mortally wound its opponents. 

“If you don’t mind I would like to speak to your other pokemon now.” I think I was starting to enjoy watching this girl question my requests.

“I thought we were battling. If you wanted to speak to my pokemon, why didn’t you just ask?”

“We are, however, I am battling to listen to your pokemon. I do not battle just to battle. I am not a selfish trainer. I do not wish to see my friends injured.” Through the entire conversation, she just had another, although different, shocked look on her face. She looked at her Zorua, who nodded. She then pulled out a different pokeball and released its occupant. The Oshawatt looked up at her, clearly confused.

“I thought we were gonna let Zorua out to battle. To get his confidence back up!” The girl just looked at the pokemon, and the small pokemon turned back around with a look of sadness on its face. “Well sir, let’s go!” I didn’t think this pokemon would be so interesting, honorable but also slightly aggressive. Given what I had learned up to this point, it wasn’t likely it was because of her that it was sad, rather, her pokemon thinking it had failed her in some way.

“Very well, Purrloin my friend! Pursuit!” I said it and immediately, my friend was moving in a blur, smacking the Oshawatt to the side like a ragdoll. It got up immediately.

“Okay, Shell use water gun!”

“Quickly my friend, dodge and use scratch.” I had planned to change based on how she attacked, and it was going well. I looked up, and despite most trainers looking like they would be horrified, having one of their pokemon getting ready to faint, she smiled. Before I could say anything, my friend was slammed against the ground as her Oshawatt had used tackle before using water gun. She never ordered it though, so she must have trusted her pokemon to complete the maneuver on its own. I still don't know how she did that however. She bent down and hugged her pokemon.

“Good job Oshawatt!” I watched as she pulled out her Zorua. “You too Zorua!” I bent down to pick up my friend, wishing I hadn’t asked to battle. I was now responsible for my friend being hurt. I grabbed him gently, and stood up to see the girl walking toward me. She looked up at my expression, clearly seeing my panic. 

“Sit.”

“What?”

“Just sit.” I sat down and she fished something out of her bag, a baggy filled with some kind of leaves. She grabbed one, slid her finger into my friend’s mouth and put the leaf onto his tongue. His eyes shot open so fast, I would have just thought him asleep normally.

“Wha-”

“Revival herbs. They’re native to the Johto region. My dad sent them up as something in case of emergency. They are a very powerful medicine, but they are very bitter.” 

“Like coffee? Unfortunate. Coffee is nasty.” I was being very serious, but she giggled. 

“Yeah I have a friend who agrees with you.”

“Well thank you, um, sorry what was your name again? I struggle with names.”

“Touko White.” I must have made a funny face because she cocked her head at me. “What?”

“You said my name was strange. Having a color as your surname is certainly something you don’t see often. Anyway, I need to be off.” I got up, my pokemon friend following me as I walked before Touko said one last thing to me.

“See you around N! Salvum itineribus!” I turned. Not knowing what to say.

“What did you say?”

“Oh, sorry. I say that to people. It’s one of many ways to say safe travels in latin. My family is full of archeologists, so we say it a lot!”

“I see. Well, good luck to you.” With that I turned and walked off. I took my friend to the forest, where I let it go. I will never figure out why they always look so sad when I let them go, but I must. The world will never be perfect unless we separate people and pokemon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! Next chapter is going to have some development of Bianca and Cheren, as well as some for Touko, Suicune, and Zorua! Also, as an aside, I have never had auto correct change a Pokemon's name into so many different things.


	3. Burn Marks, Nightmares, and Ideals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and co decide to stop at a hotel for the night, not really wanting to end up in Striaton Town being super worn down from the day's events. During their stay, Touko makes sure to enjoy herself plenty, and helps her new Zorua when he feels most vulnerable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'd like to apologize up front, this chapter doesn't really have any development for Cheren or Bianca. I decided that I wasn't going to try to squeeze it in there, as this was mostly about Touko and Zorua, and it would have taken away from the issues in the chapter. I'll get to it eventually (Probably in chapter 4 and 5, but who knows) but just not this chapter. Also, this chapter will be explicit, so expect that. As usual, feedback is very welcome and if you see something wrong with my writing, just tell me! I would appreciate it more than anything if you guys helped me improve my writing!

Touko and Bianca had decided they wanted to stay the night in Accumula town. Cheren tried to point out they had wanted to make it to Striaton by nightfall, but was quickly shot down by Bianca. They stayed at a hotel, each getting separate rooms because the hotel’s rooms were quite small. That and because Touko wanted to talk to her pokemon. She was pretty happy when they got rooms at three opposite points. Not just because she didn’t want her human friends to hear her, but also so Cheren couldn’t wake her up by pounding on the wall. She took out her three friends, let them get comfortable, then she went to go take a shower. Touko turned on what she thought was the shower’s cold water. She didn’t take hot showers, as the burning sensation was just too much. She took off her shorts and her shirt and tossed them on the floor. She stopped for a moment, looking in the mirror. Touko hated how she looked sometimes. She would always watch TV with Bianca, always seeing models (especially Elesa) with such confidence that they were willing to show themselves off in front of the millions in Unova. She shook the thought and stripped the rest of the way before climbing in the shower, jumping back out with a yelp immediately when she felt the water.

‘Jeez guys. You could label the knobs correctly, that wouldn’t be so bad.’

“Are you okay Touko?” The girl smiled at hearing her Oshawatt’s concern.

“Yes Shell, I’m fine. The water was a little warm for my liking.”

“You don’t like warm showers?!” She had only had the two for a short while, but she could tell them apart. Her Zorua was very energetic, and its voice was higher pitched.

“Not particularly.” Touko said as she adjusted the shower’s temperature to her preferred coldish shower temp. 

“Why?” Touko sighed.

“I don’t like talking about it.” The two pokemon just sat there confused as they heard their trainer climb in the shower. Then the two walked over to Suicune, who was sprawled out at the foot of the bed, unable to get comfortable on the bed.

“I assume the two of you want answers from me as to why she is like she is.” 

“How did you know?” Suicune laughed.

“Because young one, I had the same questions years ago. There are some things I will not answer however.”

“Like what?”

“Ask, and you will know.” Zorua started to look annoyed.

“Why do you talk like that?” Suicune just smiled, knowingly.

“I have been alive for 157 years. I am wise enough to know how to speak like this, so I will.”

“Anyway. We would like to ask questions.”

“Very well.” The small otter sat down next to the large legendary.

“Well for starters, why can she understand us but no one else can?”

“This I do not know, however, I doubt she is the only one. She is gifted. It seems to be a natural thing, but perhaps it could be taught.” Zorua moved over slightly, intently listening to the pokemon’s words.

“Why is she sometimes confident, and other times, not at all?”

“That has much do with how we met. She is adventurous, a very experienced trainer, and she has seen much. This however is also her downfall. She thinks she must hide many parts of her true self; her fear of lightning and fire, the fact that she is an experienced trainer, and the fact she can talk to and understand us. She hides these things because she feels as though those she cares about will abandon her should they ever come to light.”

“Fear of fire? Lightning? Aren’t those things normal?”

“Yes and no. To fear being burned is one thing. Touko can’t handle being near it, which she views as a weakness. She strives to be perfect, however, she doesn’t understand that no one is perfect. Touko knows she can’t change the past, not the tower, not leaving Johto, and not the lying of her past. Yet she tries to cover it up. This is her weakness.”

“The tower?”

“I will explain to you later.” Suicune then closed its eyes and went to sleep leaving the other two pokemon slightly confused.

Touko was doing what she always did in the shower. She was running her finger up her leg, tracing a long faded burn mark. It had been 7 years and she could still remember the burn marks exact shape. She traced it all the way up her leg, all the way to her hip, then curving toward the middle of her body. She then ran her finger up and down her slit, feeling great pleasure as she moaned softly. She spread the soft flesh with her fingers, enjoying the feeling for a moment. She slid two fingers in. She sat down, moving her fingers and squeezing her breast. She moaned and got further into it. She put a third finger in, she could feel the pure ecstasy going through her system, while the shower battered her head, she suddenly spread her legs, putting one on the outside of the bathtub’s wall, and putting her other foot on the shower’s stability bars. She went harder, faster, and felt better and better, until she came. She sprayed the shower wall with the orgasmic fluid as her eyes rolled back and she tilted her head back. She sat like that for a bit, tingling from the intense feelings of her self pleasing session.

“Wow, I needed that! If it weren’t for my pokemon wanting to be out tonight, I would probably continue, but damn that felt good! I should’ve brought some of my toys! Maybe I’ll fix the lack of those when I get to Striaton, because I really want to ride a dildo. Ah Touko, you dirty, dirty girl. Hopefully mom doesn’t find any of those. She would absolutely flip.” The girl pulled herself off the floor, barely able to stand, her legs were so shaky.

‘Either that, or she would ask to borrow one. I mean, she is the one who accidentally taught me everything I know about it. She even has her own stuff, which in full admittance, I’ve used all of that stuff before. She had really good taste in what she bought, having something for everything.’ Touko had actually seen her mom masturbate before. In fact, she had spied on her mother doing it so she could get a better understanding of it. She wasn’t into girls, but could totally see why her dad had fallen for her mom. She was smart, funny, and looked amazing. That woman was something special. Touko would probably never admit any of this though. She actually had a few embarrassing stories, including one where Bianca had almost caught here doing it years ago, but she wouldn’t have stopped, even if she was found out. She was the same girl who had done it in public by ducking into one of the giant coat racks in the store, so she figured if anyone was going to know about her being constantly horny, it might as well be Bianca. She was fine with Bianca knowing because Bianca, although a lesbian, was still a girl, and since Touko had no interest in having sex with girls (Although she had lost her virginity with Bianca because she was pressured into it.) Touko wasn’t comfortable around Bianca for a few months after that. It took a bit to forgive her friend for that one, and if anyone else had forced her into that, she never could have forgiven them. Cheren however? Nope. Touko knew he had a crush on her, but she didn’t have any romantic interest in him whatsoever. Bianca was different though. She could sit in a room with her, completely naked, and Bianca would just carry on like she saw nothing. Normal conversations and everything. Bianca just wouldn’t look at her as she put some clothes on. But if Cheren was in the same position, even if she was partly clothed, she would feel SO dirty. Well, even more dirty than her Lesbain friend walking in on her in the nude. She was only semi comfortable around Bianca like that because she figured Bianca already had seen everything. But he was a guy after all, and had no business seeing his female friends in the nude. She grabbed the shampoo and looked at its tea green color, instantly reminding herself of the battle, she replayed it in her head.

‘I’m glad that Shell saw my signal. It could have ended really badly, but he is really perceptive. Either way, I need to figure out a way to signal that without bending my pinky over my other fingers like that. The way we are doing it now hurts really badly. ’ Touko washed the shampoo out of her hair, careful not to get any in her eyes. She had an issue with that, with her poofy hair and all. She flipped her wet hair back and stood straight up. ‘Still, I kinda wonder about that guy. He seemed almost naive, and he was really good looking, but he really didn’t seem to like trainers. Still, he did save me from the other green haired dude. He was an asshole.’ Touko grabbed her towels, tying one around her hair, and wrapping the other around her body. She walked out of the door, seeing two of her three friends sleeping, with her Zorua wide awake, watching TV. She listened to the sounds he was making, almost a pained whimper. She rushed over, sitting down next to her friend, and leaned over to see him crying. She looked at the TV and saw just a regular gym battle. Confused, Touko began to speak.

“What’s wrong?” The small fox just looked up at her, tears in its eyes.

“I told you.”

“Told me what?”

“I told you that I was holding back my old trainer. Look at him go. He destroyed the entire gym that I couldn’t even get close on.” Touko just looked back up to see the man with black hair, rings that looked to be made of silver, and spray tanned skin standing in the arena, with thumbs up, waving, and him smiling. She thought she hated him before, but now? She would have beat him to death with a walking cane if she could have. Touko got up and turned the TV off. She then sat back down, and motioned for the Zorua to come to her.

“I don’t understand what I was doing wrong. He just replaced me. He picked up an entire new team, and did in a few weeks what I couldn’t do in months.” Touko just sat there, contemplating his words before grabbing the pokemon, lifting it off the ground, and giving it a hug.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time. Good friends don’t abandon their friends when those friends can’t complete a task. You are strong, fast, and fun to be around. He didn’t abandon you because you were weak, he abandoned you because HE was weak.”

“How can you be so sure? You saw me out in the wild. I had been out there three weeks, and if you hadn’t come along, I probably wouldn’t have survived! Even in an area with weak pokemon in it! You should recognize this, you are doing the gyms!”

“Maybe I am but that doesn’t change the facts.”

“The fact that I couldn’t beat the 1st gym? With tons of training and lots of practice no less. I’m not strong at all!” Touko released her grip on the pokemon, and when it looked her in the eye, it realized it should probably shut up.

“You are confusing strength with power. You may not have been powerful, but you are certainly strong. You confront your fear of losing every time you fight in battle. I can’t say that I have ever been able to confront my fears.” The Zorua just stared at her, unable to comprehend why she believed in it so. She saw the aftermath of him being alone for a short time, she saw how much better his old trainer did without him, and yet she still believed in him. The pokemon smiled. He looked up and when she saw his smile and smiled back, it made him feel special. He liked this one much more than his old trainer. Then the pokemon had an idea.

“Actually, I have a favor to ask.” Touko looked at him intently. “Would you be willing to give me a nickname? Suicune has one, and Shell does too.” Touko’s face lit up, almost as if she had just been offered the best thing she had ever seen.

“Absolutely. How about Redford?” The pokemon went for about 25 minutes through names before coming up with one. “How about Zorro?” The fox yipped excitedly, not saying anything, but obviously being excited by it. “Okay Zorro, let’s get ready for bed.” Touko got into her pajamas, brushed her teeth and hair, and went to bed. 

N had gotten a room after thinking about it for a while. He didn’t want to deal with the people between Accumula and Striaton. N pulled out his pokeball and let his most trusted friend, a Zoroark, out into the room.

“Sorry for keeping you locked in there for so long my friend.”

“It’s no problem N. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”

“What should we do tomorrow? Am I ready for the first gym leader?”

“Probably. I need some coffee for tomorrow though, since you are gonna end up getting me up at some god-awful time like usual.”

“I get up at 7:30, it is not that early. Besides, how do you drink that sludge you call a drink? It is the exact opposite thing that I would want to wake up to.”

“Says the guy who wakes up by doing math problems. We need to find you a hobby.”

“I have a hobby.”

“I don’t count math as a hobby.”

“I also enjoy moving toward my ideals.”

“I think you need to learn the definition of a hobby. Tomorrow we’ll look around Striaton for stuff to do after we defeat the gym leaders.” N just smiled at his friend. He wasn’t sure that the two agreed on some things, but they still got along quite well. Other than an Unfezant, N had less of an issue befriending Zoroark than any other pokemon. He had helped the Unfezant out when it was brought to him as a Pidove, but Zoroark just kind of befriended him. He was N’s best friend, no question about it.

“I do not think I need a hobby, as I have plenty of work to do liberating pokemon.”

“Well, if you ever plan to actually achieve your goal you will need to have something to do afterwards.” N hadn’t really thought about it, but his friend was right of course. Beyond his ideal, he had no purpose. N had done the math, determining that this was the most efficient path forward, due to him really not having plans beyond that, he didn’t have to worry about the other parts of his future.

“Possibly. We will deal with that when the time comes however.” Zoroark just cackled. He loved the fact he could poke fun at his friend’s long term plans and not have him realize it. He knew N was naive, and couldn’t understand the world. Zoroark blamed Ghetsis for this, that and everything else. He hated how Ghetsis would talk to N.

“Well, even if it has not come now, you need to consider it  _ king  _ N.”

“I asked you not to refer to me as that. It is something that is too formal for my tastes.”

“As you wish.” With that, they got ready for bed and went to sleep.”

Touko shot up, breathing extremely hard. She could feel her heart pumping very fast, very hard. She ripped off the covers, got up, and paced for half an hour until her heart rate calmed down. She turned when she heard a yawn from near the bed.

“Sorry if I woke you Aurora. I wasn’t trying to be loud.”

“All is well child. At least with me. You seem a little worse for wear, however. Nightmares I presume?”

“Yeah, a pretty bad one. I don’t get it. I have been away from home ONE day and suddenly, I have one of the worst nightmares I have ever had.”

“I assume you don’t want to talk about it.”

“You assume correctly. Though you never make it easy so I’m gonna assume you are gonna make me anyway.”

“Correct as well. We can either just get it over with, or do the long drawn out thing, but either way, you will tell me.”

“Fine. So it started at the steps to the tower. I looked around and it was winter, which was weird because I’ve never even been there in winter.” Touko felt like she was going to puke but she kept going. “Suddenly a lightning storm started. It struck the tower, and I started to hear screaming in the tower, so I ran up to the door, threw it open, and saw all of my friends, family, and acquaintances on fire, screaming, begging for help.” At that point Touko burst into tears, unable to stand it any longer. 

“It is okay Touko, I am here. As are Shell and Zorro.” Suicune knelt and nuzzled Touko’s chin, forcing her head up to look the young girl in the eyes. “Finish if you like, or we can continue this later.” Touko regained herself and began to speak in between choking on tears.

“T-the worst part was that I couldn’t do anything. I just watched in horror, unable to move as the thing I fear most engulfed the things I care most about..”

“Attempt to calm yourself child. We mustn't awake those around us.” Touko breathed heavily, coughed some, sniffled, and got off the floor.

“Yeah, you’re right. Come on, we should get going.” Touko was getting out of her pajamas as she was saying this. The large pokemon averted its eyes, not because it cared, but because it knew Touko didn’t like anything looking at her undressing, which Suicune assumed was reasonable. It didn’t understand why she let one of her friends see her completely clothless, but the pokemon would probably never know. Touko ran over to the sink to start brushing her teeth, still only half dressed.

“It isn’t even dawn yet child. That and you have friends that will be concerned if you just up and leave.” Touko spit out the toothpaste, and ran back to clothe her bottom half, as she had only put a bra and a shirt on.

“I know, but I want to leave, that and you need to see Unova too. Not just me.”

“What about your friends?”

“I’ll send Bianca a text in an hour or two. It’s only four right now, so nothing is gonna be waking her up. Besides, what fun is life without some turbulence?” Suicune just shook its head.

“I would say you already lead a life with a great deal of ‘turbulence’.” Touko shook the other two pokemon awake, putting all three into their pokeballs as she put her socks and shoes on, grabbed her bag, and walked out of her room. Then she went headfirst into something kind of hard, yet soft. She fell backwards, landing with a soft thud, but shot back up immediately. Touko looked up slightly to see a tall, red and black, sort of fuzzy pokemon. Touko wasn’t sure whether to be terrified, or excited because of the large pile of fuzz standing in front of her.

“Zoroark! Why are you standing there? Is there some reason you are staring in that person’s room?” Touko turned to the familiar voice and saw N. His green hair was a mess, and reminded her of herself when she got up in the morning.

“Well, I was just standing here, waiting for you, and then this girl absentmindedly walked out and slammed into me!”

“Hey N.”

“Touko?”

“Hey, you remembered this time! And you said you were bad with names!” N had this look of perplexion on his face that was a mix of ‘why is this person so excited by this?’ and ‘why is she out here at 4 in the morning?’ Touko turned to Zoroark, and then back to N. Her face lit up. “Can I hug your pokemon?!” Zoroark and N were both shocked by this request.

“S-sure, I guess.”

“Yay!” Zoroark gave N a dirty look. Touko grabbed Zoroark around the stomach, and then reached behind his ear, and scratched it. The pokemon basically melted right there, and only got back up when Touko stopped.

“So Touko, what are you doing up at 4 am?”

“I’m heading to Striaton town. You?”

“My friend here wanted to go outside, but wasn’t willing to wait for me to get into normal clothes, or fix my hair.”

“Wait, those are your pajamas?! Why are your pajamas so fancy?”

“They...aren’t?”

“Those probably cost more than my entire wardrobe!”

“Anyway, my friend seems to think it an excellent time to go outside, so I guess we’re headed in the same direction.” They started walking, and when they got into the brighter light of the lobby, N noticed Touko’s eyes. He wasn’t sure how he didn’t notice before, but they were a really nice blue. He liked that, but he couldn’t place why. They reached the street corner and they said their goodbyes. Touko walked off into the night, almost skipping as she went, whistling an old tune that N didn’t know what was. As soon as she could no longer see N, she pulled out Suicune’s pokeball. Pressing the eject button, the pokemon hit the ground in a flash of light.

“Well, you seem to be in a better mood now. I take it you have a reason?”

“I hugged a fluffy pokemon. He was super soft.”

“Speaking of warm things, it is much warmer out here than I thought it would be. You certainly didn’t dress for a warm night either.” A sly smile appeared on Touko's face.

“Hey, I can just take my shirt off. Not like anyone is gonna question it, seeing as no one travels here at night. You on the other hand, can not.” As if to prove her point, she pulled her shirt off, leaving nothing on her top except for a black silk lace bra.

“You really are a strange one. You are willing to expose yourself, but only if no one of your kind is around.” 

“It’s a human thing. We tend to be sensitive about our bodies when others are around, but you have seen me walk around the house completely nude before, so it’s situational.” Suicune smiled

“I am happy to see that through the burn marks and nightmares, you are still confident in something.” Touko smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note: yes, I am aware it is Striaton City, not town. It just isn't much of a city and I have called it town for years at this point. Also, I couldn't find a name for the nightmares caused by PTSD. Do they have a specific name, or is it not just me sucking at looking through doctor's reports. If anyone knows, please tell me!


	4. Restaurants, Gym Leaders, and Electricity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and her friends meet back up in Striaton, and after beating Cilan, the three go to a banquet that celebrates powerful trainer. While there, Touko meets Elesa, but sudden issues cause the fun to be cut short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once more! I really have nothing to say on this one, so enjoy the chapter!

Cheren woke up at 8:00. He always woke up at the same time, which bothered both Touko and Bianca, because he got up and was immediately raring to go. Bianca usually woke up at around 10:00, and would spend the next half an hour getting ready. Cheren started walking, knowing that the other two wouldn’t want to wake so early. He didn’t want to deal with a sleepy Bianca, because she would end up forcing him to basically drag her around the hotel. He didn’t want to bother Touko because she would generally end up smacking him when he tried to wake her up. She didn’t hit overly hard, but she still gave him a bloody nose on occasion. Cheren decided to wait to go get breakfast. On his way, he passed Bianca’s room. He decided that he was gonna wake her up, mostly out of boredom. He knocked on the door, then entered.

“Wake up sleepyhead. Time to get up.” The groggy 16 year old opened her eyes, squinting at the older teen. Then grabbing her Xtranciever and looking at the time.

“Geez Cheren you could have let me sleep a little longer. Is Touko up?”

“Unless she got up on her own I would say no. Anyway, it’s time for breakfast.”

“Shouldn’t we get Touko up? I mean, it would be pretty rude to her if we just went and ate without her.”

“She didn’t tell me her room number. Did she tell you?”

“Nope. I’m just gonna call her on the Xtranciever! Oh. She sent me a message.”

“When?”

“At like 6 in the morning. That girl is insane. She knows I won’t answer then!”

“Does it say anything important?” Bianca put in her password quickly.

“It says ‘Hey Bianca, I am sending you this because you probably won’t wake up. I am heading to Striaton because I couldn’t sleep. We’ll catch up there. See you in a few Hours!’.

“Well, at least we know where she is. Do you figure she had one of her nightmares again?” Bianca frowned at Cheren.

“Probably. It must have been pretty bad though, because usually she just gets put on edge for the rest of the day and tries to prevent herself from falling asleep, just because she didn’t want to have another episode.”

“How many times have I told her to stop doing that? She is gonna destroy herself like that.”

“Maybe. Other than this, I can only remember like one time that she had such a negative reaction. Do you remember that time when she wouldn’t come out of her room for food, she wouldn’t talk to anyone, and Ms. White had to drag her to the hospital?”

“Bad times. That was only a year after she moved here. When she would only wear jeans, even though it was like 90 degrees outside. Why don’t we call her and ask if she’s okay?” Bianca’s smile returned to her face.

“Great idea Cheren!” Bianca started dialing Touko’s number. She picked up fast, and saw both of her friends sitting there, smiling.

“Hey guys! What’s up?” Cheren smiled, but quickly buried it, trying to sound as flat as possible.

“We were calling to see if you were all right. You just kinda left.” Touko made a silly face at them.

“Hey, I left a message! Besides, I wasn’t going to wake you guys up at four in the morning fo-” 

“YOU LEFT AT FOUR IN THE MORNING?! WHY DID YOU TEXT ME AT SIX THEN?!” Touko held the device further from her face.   
  


“Bianca, calm down. I’m in public. I was doing that so if you did wake up, you couldn’t just drag me back inside. That and I wanted to make a reservation at the gym here.” Cheren looked puzzled.

“A reservation? Why?”

“It's a half gym, half restaurant. You have to make a reservation to eat there, or a reservation to battle there.” Bianca’s eyes lit up.

“That’s kinda awesome! When is your battle set for?”

“Tomorrow night. I will be facing the green haired one,” Cheren looked lost.

“Are there others? You say that like there will be others.”

“There are. It depends on what type of pokemon you use. My team consists of a Zorua and an Oshawatt, so I have to fight the grass leader, his name is Cilan. Bianca has her Tepig, so she will battle against Cress. You, Cheren, have to deal with the ultra competitive one, his name is Chili.”

“Sounds like Cheren got matched with someone like him!” Cheren glared at Bianca for that one.

“So how can we watch? If the only ones permitted for entrance are those with reservations, then how can we go there to watch you?”

“I actually asked about that earlier, and Cilan said I can bring three people in. After the battles wrap up, we all go to dinner at a VIP part of the restaurant. If I win first try of course.”

“Should we arrive in fancy clothing, or should we just wear normal clothes.”

“I think you should dress at least a bit nicer than usual. There will be celebrities there.”

“Well, we better get going. It’s almost 9 and it’s a 3-4 hour walk. Where should we meet up?”

“They have a really pretty fountain in the west section of town. That’s where we’ll meet. Talk to you later!” With that Touko hung up the call. Touko had actually spent the morning with Zorro and Shell, battling with them to strengthen them up. She had also gone and bought some stuff for the road. Cans of food, a cooking pot, some of her more ‘sensitive’ items, and even a new sleeping bag. Zorro was rather nervous, having lost to the gym three times already. Touko and Shell had tried to get it to battle when they were walking to Striaton, but couldn’t. Suicune eventually stepped in to help, knowing full well that despite her years of experience, Touko had no idea how to handle her new friend. They had gotten Zorro to battle against other pokemon in the wild for the first time under Touko’s command, and even though he did fight against N’s pokemon, they knew that was more instinct and less trainer and pokemon working together. Touko walked all around town, beating trainers and wild pokemon (Catching a few, but releasing them right afterwards. She needed their pokedex data.) Until about 12:30, where she went to sit over by the fountain and wait for her friends. At about 1:30 they arrived, with food no less.

“Hey guys! Why did you take so long?” Cheren rolled his eyes and readjusted his glasses.

“We stopped at a street vendor to get some food. We got you some too.” 

“My goodness Touko, you look horrible! Have you not slept at all since whatever time this morning?” Touko just smiled at her concerned friend. Despite being older, taller, and better versed in the world, they still acted like older siblings to her. Though she guessed that was warranted, because she was always doing the same to them.

“Nope. I’ve taken some pictures for whenever I get around to sending a letter to my dad again. That and battled some trainers to prepare for tomorrow.” Cheren smiled. Touko figured he probably took that as a challenge.

“Well, if you’ve been training so much, why don’t we have a battle? I can see how ready you are for your first gym challenge.” Touko mentally congratulated herself for getting it right. Even if it wasn’t hard to guess.

“Alright Cheren. You’re on.” At that exact moment, Touko dropped her normal happy go lucky attitude, and put up an almost shield-like block. Cheren must have felt it because he looked uncomfortable. The battle wasn’t even close. Cheren led with his purrloin. The frail pokemon was put on the ground so fast, Cheren had barely given it three orders. His Snivy came out next, and Touko immediately withdrew her Oshawatt. She pulled out Zorro, who was now confident in his abilities. He hit the ground and snarled at his opponent, who shrunk back in fear. Cheren was absolutely dumbstruck by her pokemon. She never studied them like he did that he was aware of anyway, and besides a pidove that she nursed back to health after finding and somehow befriending the injured animal, she had no experience as a trainer.  _ That he was aware of. _ Cheren tossed the idea around in his head, but it ended up sounding ridiculous to him. 

‘Yeah, sure Cheren. Your childhood friend has secretly been raising pokemon for years without anyone knowing. The fact I am losing does nothing even remotely close to prove that. As cool as it would be, it’s not probable. Although it is strange that even though she just met them yesterday, Touko has already seemingly become close friends with the two, and at least one is ruthlessly powerful. Even yesterday, she beat that weirdo in Accumula town with surprisingly little effort.’ Cheren shook his head. “Well, that was unexpected. I’m sure you were just lucky and hit something by chance.”

“Maybe. Shall we begin round two?”

“Yeah. Might as well destroy you this go round.” Even as Cheren said this, he didn’t believe it. He believed it even less when he made it only 4 commands into the battle before it was over.

“Unfortunate. Hey Bianca, it’s your turn. See if you can stop Touko.”

“Are you sure? I-I’m not as strong as you two. Not nearly.” Touko didn’t really want to go against Bianca. Not just because she didn’t want to destroy her, but also because of her Tepig. Even if she hadn’t trained it enough to know ember, it constantly blew fire out of its nose. Bianca thought it was cute, but it still terrified Touko. She had never told anyone about her pyrophobia, nor her astraphobia. She had always figured they would make fun of her for that, so she just didn’t. When she thought about it, it surprised Touko how little faith she had in her friends sticking by her side. She avoided large chunks of her life with them out of fear of losing them. She looked up at Bianca, masking her thoughts with a ‘do you want to’ face.

“Well, it’ll be good practice for tepig here.” Touko wished she hadn’t said yes. It was one sided, but she put up quite the fight. She was doing really well, although Touko was holding back a lot. Bianca was getting really into it, so Touko just let it drag on. Her tepig came out first, but she made a point of taking it out quickly. She let the lillipup go for quite a bit though. Eventually, the fight was over however. “Oh well. I figured that would happen.”

“Hey chin up Bianca! You lasted a lot longer than Cheren!” This seemed to cheer the oblivious girl up, who then hugged her friend before releasing her grip of steel to grab her food.

“Well, we should probably eat before our food gets cold! No one likes cold french fries!” Touko and Cheren smiled at their energetic friend.

“Right you are Bianca.” They all sat down and began to eat. Cheren and Bianca had gotten corn dogs, but they had gotten Touko sliders due to her distaste of cordogs. Touko had planned to start a conversation but didn’t realize how hungry she was. She had a protein bar for breakfast, had been in the sun all day, and had been exercising with her pokemon. She also hadn’t slept for more than a few hours before starting toward Striaton. Touko was hungry, tired, and pretty stressed. Her first gym challenge was tomorrow evening, she had just had a small panic attack, and she was constantly under stress about the secrets in her life. “Well, where do you guys want to go next?” Bianca looked over and shrugged her shoulders.

“Well Cheren and I need to get reservations in the gym, and we need to train. You probably need to make some preparations for tomorrow and we should go sightseeing.”

“We could vote on what we do next. That way no one is just left doing whatever.” Cheren decided that he would chime in.

“Well, I vote we get reservations, then we train, then we sightsee.”

“Sounds good to me. How about you Bianca?”

“Sure. How long are the lines?”

“About three times as long as a holiday weekend store.”

“Well, we better get started then! Come on you two, we have reservations to make!” The trio got up and wandered toward the large gym/restaurant combo. Once they got inside, they got in line with Touko standing outside the tape because she had already completed this process. Suddenly, a voice came from behind them and Touko turned to see a red haired man walking toward them.

“Hey Touko! Back so soon? What, did ya come for lunch.” Touko smiled and shook her head.

“Nope. This place is WAY out of my price range. I came here to keep my friends company as they wait in these lines.” The man laughed.

“Is THAT why you’re standing here like a weirdo. That makes sense! Welcome you two!” Bianca smiled slightly and waved at him, not knowing what to do at the receiving end of her normal overabundance of energy. Cheren just stared at him like he had just had a stroke.

“Cheren and Bianca, this is Chili. He is the one that you will be battling Cheren.”

“Looking forward to it.” Chili laughed.

“Good to see some enthusiasm for once! So anyone else in your trio going against me? Or just him?

“Well, I’m going up against Cilan. Bianca here is going up against Cress.”

“Well, I look forward to watching some good matches! After all, you all look pretty tough! Anyway, I’ve gotta get back to it before Cress gets on my case again. See ya later!” The trio waved goodbye as Chili disappeared into the crowd. Touko wavered slightly, before falling backwards toward her two friends. Cheren was decently strong and had good reflexes, so he caught his friend before she hit the piece of metal that held the tape up. He got out of line, draping her arm around his shoulder (although with some difficulty, since he wasn’t the tallest person) and put her down on one of the chairs. He then called for one of the waiters to hand him some water. He forced her mouth open and poured water into her mouth. He did this a couple of times until she woke up, coughing the water back up.

“What the hell? Cheren? Why am I sitting over here?”

“You collapsed right after talking to Chili. You almost landed spine first on the pole over there.”

“Help me up.”

“No. You are in no position to be up and about.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Bianca and I are going to finish up here, and then we are going to get you a room. You need the rest.”

“I said I’m fine. Besides, we have stuff we need to do today.”

“Well, I said you weren’t fine and we aren’t doing any of that today. Bianca and I don’t really want to have to catch you whenever you fall over from exhaustion.” Touko sighed and looked over.

“Fine. When you two get done here, we’ll go to a hotel.”

“There we go. We’ll only take a few more minutes.” Cheren rejoined Bianca in line and Touko decided to call her mom out of boredom.

“Hello? Touko? Are you there?”

“Yeah mom, I’m here.”

“What do you need honey?”

“I just wanted to talk to someone.”

“Well, what do you want to talk about?”

“I have a spot reserved for my first gym challenge. If I win first try, I get to attend a fancy banquet! Kinda sounds like fun.”

“Ah yes. Aurea asked me if I wanted to go to that. I declined.”

“If I end up getting to go, what should I wear?”

“Why not that black dress your dad got you last year? It looks good on you, and you don’t wear it enough. Wear it with some high heels and you have a good combo.”

“You know I don’t do well in high heels.”

“I know. What is it you always say? ‘I prefer the sword version of stilettos, the shoes end up cutting my feet more than I ever cut my hands with the blade.’ Do you think you are ever going to get back into swordplay?”

“I don’t know. Maybe sometime when I need a stress reliever.”

“Well, I love you. I need to take Stoutland out for a walk. Salvum itineribus!” Her mother hung up, so Touko turned off her Xtranciever and looked up to see both of her friends heading toward her. 

“Now can you help me up?”

“Sure. But remember, we are going straight to the hotel. No sightseeing or anything.” Touko stuck her hand out and Cheren pulled her up.

“I’m too tired to argue anything right now.” Touko’s friends smiled. Cheren and Bianca stayed next to Touko, making sure she wouldn’t fall over. They guided over to the hotel, then into her room. She plopped down on the bed and went to sleep. Touko woke up to a knocking sound, she opened her eyes, not really wanting to get up.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Bianca!” Touko got up and unlocked the door, where she then just stared at the younger girl in front of her.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I got trampled by an entire stable of Zebstrikas wearing hockey skates.”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure. Just don’t be loud. I have a headache.”

“Hey Touko, can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What do you need Bel?”

“I was wondering, when we did that thing together a while back,did you feel pressured? I mean, I know you just see us as just friends, but did you feel like I forced you into it?”

“Bianca, it’s been months. You need to learn to let this stuff go.”

“Just answer the question.”

“Yeah, I did feel like I couldn’t really say no. But, I’m kinda glad for the experience. I may not be lesbian, but I was still curious about it.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Bianca, don’t worry. That didn’t make me uncomfortable. What made me uncomfortable was you walking up to your openly straight female friend and asking to have sex. That was weird.”

“I guess. I just felt so strongly. I guess strongly is a word to describe that. I felt like it would be okay with you since, you know, you openly do stuff like that around me sometimes.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I didn’t just accept because of peer pressure, although that was like 95% of it. I was also just genuinely curious about it. When it’s with guys, I may have never done it, but it’s pretty simple. With two girls though? I had no idea. I kind of wanted to see and I figured you wouldn’t have let me watch you and someone else screw.”

“Yeah.” Bianca sighed, thankful her friend was so forgiving to her. “Well, I brought you some soup. Cheren was going to bring it up, but I volunteered because I don’t want Cheren around for this conversation.”

“Doesn’t he already know?”

“Yeah, but he still has a crush on you. That and he knows you’re still actually straight, so he gets his hopes up that he might have a chance.”

“Yeah. What kind of soup did you bring up?”

“Chicken noodle. We figured that was the best choice, so that’s what we went with.”

“I’ll have to thank Cheren later, but since you’re here, thank you.” Bianca smiled.

“You’re welcome. Did you want me to stick around while you ate, or just leave you be?”

“Whichever. Again, as long as you don’t get loud, it’s fine with me.” The two talked while Touko got the stuff out and started to make her soup. She may have just eaten, but she had probably the fastest metabolism known to man, so she was just burning through stuff like nothing else.

“You need to take better care of yourself Touko. I get you can’t really control the nightmares, but you can at least eat and whatnot. Maybe if you ate enough, you wouldn’t feel quite so much like crap.”

“Yeah. But if I started to eat more, I wouldn’t have fun occurrences like today, now would I?”

“I guess not. Are you going to go back to training, or continue napping?”

“Probably the former. My pokemon seem raring to go, so it would hardly be fair to them to not. That and I have a fun day tomorrow with the gym challenge, so I might as well get some more practise in.” Touko sat down with her bowl of soup, with Touko sitting down at the table next to her. When she finished, the two got up and left the room, going back out to meet Cheren. The three spent the rest of the day battling other trainers, and Touko’s Zorua had found a TM just sitting in the grass, upon closer inspection, it was a TM for the move shadow ball. Zorro was compatible, so she taught the ghost type move, and threw the used TM machine away. She moved around, battling until she had to go back to the hotel. The three said their good nights and went to bed. Touko woke up around 9:30. She pulled herself out of bed and started to get ready. She grabbed a black dress, put her hair into a ponytail, and put a rose in her hair. She generally put flowers into her hair when going places. She prefered lilies, but the hotel had roses in the rooms, and she didn’t feel like going to get a different flower. She was fine with most kinds anyway. She exited her room and headed down the hall before turning a corner a little sharp and slamming face first in N’s arm.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be in the way!”

“It’s fine. I was hurrying a little too much.” Touko stood up, holding her hand underneath her nose to stop the blood from her now bleeding nose from getting on the dress she was wearing.

“Oh. Hi Touko. I didn’t realize it was you.”

“Hi N. Excuse me, I need to go not get blood on my dress. Would you follow me for a second so I can get into my room?”

“Sure. Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just a nosebleed. I’m clumsy, so it happens all the time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” They reached her room and N opened her door for her. He felt bad for injuring her. She on the other hand, was mad at herself for not paying enough attention. She didn’t get blood on her dress though, so that’s all that mattered. She cleaned up, went back outside, and eventually made it back downstairs with little issue.

“Well then, looks like someone’s got their fancy clothes on.”

“Yeah. I have to be there by eleven. Not sure why.”

“Maybe they want to make sure you really have a spot reserved.”

“Maybe. Maybe they’re just weird.” Bianca ran up.

“So, do you guys want to do something before Touko gets stolen by the gym?”

“I personally wouldn’t mind going to the bookstore. I’ll be waiting for a bit.”

“That sounds good to me. How about you Bel?”

“It works for me! Let’s go!” The three went into the bookstore, got some books (except Bianca, who got one of those gloved pointer sticks that reminded Touko of book fairs), and then sent Touko on her way. Touko arrived, showed her trainer card, and when she got inside, she sat on one of the benches. Touko was the last challenger for the day, challenging around 7, so she went to the restroom to talk to Zorro.

“Hey Zorro, how you doing?”

“I’m still nervous. What if I fail? Then you won’t get to do that party at the end.”

“Even if you do, it’ll be fine. The party is less important than you make it out to be. Besides, don’t be so sure you’ll fail.”

“But I’ve failed before. A few times.”

“That was then, this is now. Besides, what have we got to fear? Even if we lose, I’m not gonna be angry or disappointed. They are gym leaders after all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Besides, we're not going up against Chili, so I’m happy about that!” 

“Why?”

“He’s the fire leader. So Cheren has to deal with him.”

“Oh. Aurora explained that to me, but I’m still confused. He made a passing mention to a tower, but just stopped abruptly.”

“That’s because the Tower is a painful memory for the both of us, so if he stopped, it would make sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Suicune was born in that tower, along with two others like him, when three pokemon were trapped inside during a storm. The sacred bird Ho oH brought them back as reflections of what had happened there. The lightning that struck the tower, the fire that burned it down, and the rain that put it out. 150 years later, they returned to the tower, the same day my dad and I went there. When the same events occurred again, though this time caused by such powerful beings that were so closely connected being next to one another, I was caught in the middle.”

“So why are you afraid of lightning and fire, but not rain?”

“Well, that has to do with both the three pokemon, as well as what happened on the path that had me meet them. The rain didn’t bother me, just made me miserable, but I got burned by fire, and every time lightning struck the tower again, I was afraid it was going to hit me and kill me on the spot. That and when I met the three and collapsed in fear, Suicune was the one who walked up and nuzzled my face, which was terrifying, but also kind of nice.”

“Oh. That makes sense. Much more sense than any fear I have of losing to a gym battle.”

“Not really. Fears have a range, but that range doesn’t define how much sense it makes. My fear is what Aurora called ‘Chronic’ meaning it will last for a long time, and it’s more severe. However, if someone is chronically afraid of, say, balloons, and they are more afraid of that than I am of fire, who am I to judge?”

“I guess you’re right. Thanks for not judging me about my issues, even if they aren’t as serious as yours.”

“No problem. I’m gonna use the restroom real quick for its actual purpose, then we’ve got to go.”

“Okay. See you later.” She recalled Zorro from the ball and continued. She teased herself for a second before stopping.

‘Not here Touko, not here. I really want to, but I should wait until I get back to the hotel room tonight. That way I can have some privacy.’ She got up, washed her hands, then walked out stopping right before almost running into someone again.

“Sorry! I wasn’t paying attention!” The man nodded before they continued on their way. Touko cursed at herself inside her head.

‘Stupid! Stupid Touko! When will you learn to watch where you’re going? It’s like you slam into people on purpose!’ She sat down in the waiting area, reading one of the books she had gotten from the bookstore. It was a cookbook Cheren had picked out for her. Cheren knew Touko wished she was a better cook, so he got her something practical. That was possibly the most Cheren move she could think of. To him it was practicality over everything. She read through the entire book in a few hours, making note of the things that she would or wouldn’t make. She found a recipe for rock candy, which would be nice to give to Suicune, and she found some spicy food that Zorro would like. She also found few savory dishes that Shell would really like. She had asked them all what kind of food they liked, so it wasn’t hard to figure out dishes for each person. Throughout the entire day, people were getting called up every few minutes, the majority of which ended up going back out looking disappointed in the outcome. It made Touko nervous, but it was manageable. She had been a pokemon trainer for seven years, and had trained Shell and Zorro, although only for a short time. She kind of wished she could use Aurora, but she couldn’t because of the people. Still, she felt she could win. She ended up falling asleep for a bit, and was only woken up by the loudspeaker. 

“What an amazing match folks! He may have been close, but no cigar! Cilan wins! The final challenger today will be out in a few minutes, so make sure you have your popcorn, and let’s hope for the hottest match today!” Touko got up as one of the waiters opened the door to usher her into the arena waiting area. She was raring to go. The crowd wanted to see a great battle, and she was going to give them one. A few minutes later, the doors swung open and she walked out into the arena. She saw her combatant, Cilan, and grabbed her pokeball, walking up to the starting point. The other caster came on.

“Let’s hear it for this lucky challenger! She is the last one of the day! Will this ashen one make it? Or will she be swept away by Cilan? Only time will tell!”

‘Ashen one? At least it sounds cool. He has my name though, so why did he call me the ashen one? Kind of rude. Still, it is pretty cool.’

“Hello, was it Touko? My brother told me he met my last challenger yesterday. I assume that’s you?”

“Looks like it. These people want a show, so what do you say we give them one?”

“Shall we begin then?”

“Let’s do this.” Cilan grabbed his pokeball and sent out a Pansage. She was sure he would lead with that, it was his pokemon. It was his entire image, so she sent out Zorro.

“Interesting. I haven’t seen a Zorua in a while. Chili fought a trainer with one, but always won.”

“Yeah. They are very rare.” She tried to cover up her absolute hatred of that Zorro’s old trainer. “Zorro, use scratch!” Zorro ran at the grass type, slashing it with the Zorua’s razor sharp claws. It fell back in pain, almost in shock at the aggressiveness of the attack.

“Pansage! Use Vine whip!”

“Zorro, focus on dodging that! Wait for an opening!”

“Use scratch! Route him!”

“Zorro, use shadow ball! Get him out of the way!” Suddenly, the small fox shot a purple ball at the opposing pokemon, fainting it immediately, and sending it flying. It hit the ground and slid, causing Touko to flinch slightly at it. Even Zorro was surprised, looking at its trainer for instruction. The crowd went silent, then started cheering wildly. They had no idea that this trainer could have taught her pokemon, who still looked young, such a powerful move.

“Well, that was unexpected. Shall we continue?”

“Absolutely.” The next pokemon out was a Lilipup, who Touko thought was rather cute. It jumped up and around Cilan, excited at the prospect of battling. Touko withdrew Zorro from the battle and threw out Shell. The small pokemon landed, nearly fell, and then straightened out. It stared the lillipup in the eye.

“Hello.”

“Hi! Are you excited to fight?”

“Yeah. I want to impress my trainer.”

“Me too! My trainer is the nicest trainer, probably ever! He’s so kind to me!”

“Sorry sir, but I’m afraid the best trainer would have to be mine. She isn’t just kind to me, but makes me want to push myself to be better. That’s all I could ever ask for.”

“Well, we’ll see about that!” Shell looked back at Touko, realizing she definitely just heard all of that.

“You ready to go little guy?” Shell nodded his head, turned back toward the enemy, and got ready. “Okay Shell, use Tackle! Hit em hard!” The pokemon started running, picking up speed for about a second before grazing his opponent’s side, it just narrowly dodged. It still hurt, just not as much.

“Okay. Lillipup, use tackle! Show him how it’s done!” The small dog charged at Shell, lowered its head, and tried to slam into Shell, which had pulled his Scalchop off and used it like a shield. It still hurt quite a bit, but less than it would have otherwise. Shell backed up slightly.

“Water gun!” The sudden order was followed so fast that neither Cilan nor his pokemon could really comprehend what had just happened. The pokemon landed on its side unconscious. “Hell yeah! You did great Shell!” Touko pulled out Zorro and hugged the two of them. “Both of you two did great!”

“Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen! This girl had what it took to beat the unstoppable Cilan! Give her a hand!” The entire audience went wild, except for one person. N. He was unnoticed by Touko, but her pokemon had seen him. He had been watching to see what types of tactics he should use against Cilan. He was for some reason kind of proud of Touko. He didn’t know why. He also liked the way she looked in that dress, with a flower sticking out of her hair. She had kept it in a ponytail with a silk ribbon like the one around her stomach. He hadn’t noticed earlier because she was hurrying so much to not get blood everywhere. She was very nice to look at, which N found irritating because of how distracting it was. Through the entire fight, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her and had been giving his full attention to her. She wasn’t flaunting, but she was so naturally beautiful and was wearing such pretty clothes, that it was hard not to pay attention to all the time. He shook the thought, unsure of what he was feeling, and continued on his way. He tried to get out quickly, feeling ashamed that he had let his interest in her looks get in the way of tactical thinking. There were a lot of people, and that didn’t help. He couldn’t even get out of the stands until Touko and Cilan had long since left the arena. He got out into the lobby, and saw her again. He used all his willpower to not look at her. He passed by and hurriedly walked out of the door. Touko hadn’t even noticed him. So he thought anyway. He turned when he heard his name.

“Hey N! Did you see the battle?”

“Yes you were rather skillful, although you didn’t pull whatever trick you used on me, so the tactics were straight forward. How did you do that?” Touko smiled and put her finger up to her lips.

“My secret. I didn’t figure you would be here. After all, you don’t seem to like trainers, which is funny because you seem fine with me, but whatever. The point is that I didn’t figure you the type to be watching gym battles. So what’s with that?”

“I was here to gauge my tactics against Cilan. I have a battle with him tomorrow, and I want to be prepared.”

“Huh. Why are you getting the gym badges?”

“My goal is to surpass the champion, and then find a way to make everyone realize just how silly they are for keeping my friends locked in small prisons.”

“Umm, okay then. Not what I was expecting, but hey. What are you going to do if people don’t accept your ideology?”

“If people will not listen, they will be made to.” Touko wasn’t sure what to think of this.

“So do you work with Team Plasma then?” N didn’t want to blow his cover right now, so he decided what to say quickly.

“No. Although I suppose we aren’t enemies.”

“Oh. Okay then. I, uh don’t know what to say to that. That went from talking pleasantly to a terrifying conversation real fast.”

“I am sorry to have scared you, I talk rather bluntly.” Touko was actually kind of scared. She obviously had her pokemon, but beyond that? She only had a knife, but to get it quickly, she would have to flash the entire room, due to it being strapped to her upper thigh. She wasn’t really willing to do that.

“I see that. Time to change the topic! Are you going to the banquet?”

“No. I have much to do. Perhaps when I defeat the leader, as it is rude to ignore an invitation like that.” Despite the slight terror she just got caused, she was hoping he would say yes. She could not figure out why. Maybe because she was curious about him, maybe because she wanted to be friends with him, or maybe it was because of hormones. She settled on that answer.

“Well I figured I would ask. I mean you are kinda dressed nice. Although again, everything you wear is fancy. Even your damned pajamas!”

“Are you still stuck on that?”

“Yeah. It’s just weird that those were Pajamas. They looked like something a king would wear!” That struck a note with N, and made him slightly panic. Touko saw his expression and tried to make whatever she had just said better “Not that that’s a bad thing, you look nice in fancy clothes!” N stopped panicking and smiled at her.

“Thanks. You look good in fancy clothing too.”

“Oh this? This is the only dress I have. I like it, even though others don’t.”

“Other people don’t?”

“Nope. When Cheren, Bianca, and I were still in school, people would bother me about it constantly. I used to wear dresses a lot, but I was bullied whenever I did, so I don’t have many anymore.”

“People truly must lack class. You look great, even if they don’t think so.”

“Thanks N. Even if you have strange world views, you’re still supportive of someone you’ve only had a few conversations with. Thank you.”

“It is not a problem, enjoy the party.” N turned and walked away from the blushing Touko, going outside where his Zoroark jumped down from the roof to greet him.

“I see you have a crush.”

“A crush? What’s that?”

“It means you like someone.”

“Like a friend? Were only acquaintances though.” Zoroark cackled.

“No N. Not like that. Not like that at all. You wish her to be more than a friend, you wish you were in a relationship with her.” N blushed.

“No I don’t!”

“I saw how you were looking at her. There’s no denying it!”

“But I’m being serious! All I said was she looked nice!”

“Sure. Come on N, how naive do you think I am? I can see why you like her, she’s seductive, beautiful, and what’s the phrase? ‘Her smile could light up a room? Is that the one?”

“That sounds right.” N had agreed with everything coming out of his friend’s mouth, but hadn’t been able to make himself shut up.

“So you admit it!”

“No! I was saying that you were correct with the phrase, not that the phrase was correct!”

“You’re not changing my mind, blushing boy. Come on, how many people would even stick around you after you just basically said ‘when I become champion, I’m going to make your profession illegal’, even after that blatant threat?”

“We have to go. We have much to prepare for.”

“Okay. Come on N, the king of plasma and denial, let’s go.” N turned to see Touko, standing there, completely shocked.

“Oh, hi again Touko. Did you need something?” Touko was shocked at what she had just heard.

‘So he’s not just part of Team Plasma, he’s their leader? Why did he lie?’

“Oh no. I was looking for Bianca, sorry for interrupting your… conversation? I assume he’s talking back at you.”

“Yes. We were talking about old english phrases”

“No we weren’t! Come on man, step up! After all, you’ve got no better chance to tell her than right n-” N covered his friend’s mouth, not wanting to blush in front of Touko. All she could do was pretend like she couldn’t understand every word that was coming out of Zoroark’s mouth. Suddenly, Cheren’s voice echoed throughout the area, calling Touko’s name. Touko waved goodbye and went toward it, unaware of what to think. She was actually kind of afraid now. She had no clue exactly what he knew about her, but she didn’t want Team Plasma knocking on her door. She decided that she would stay for the banquet and head home for a few days, just to make sure nothing happened to her mom. 

“Touko, are you alright? You’re looking really scared. What happened?” Touko looked to her left to see Bianca running up to her.

“I’m fine Bianca. It’s just, I saw a Plasma member, and they knew my last name, so I was just sort of worried about my mom.”

“Oh. Are you gonna be okay? Do you want to call your mom and see if she’s alright? I can tell everyone that you will be there in a few minutes. Do you want to do that?”

“Yes please. Thanks Bianca.”

“No problem. Just don’t be too long.” Bianca ran off while Touko called her mother.

“Yes Touko? Oh dear, what’s wrong?”

“I was calling to see if you were alright.”

“Why dear? What happened?”

“Well, I saw someone from Team Plasma. I pissed off one of their leaders the other day, and this one knew my last name, so I was afraid they had done something to you.”

“Oh Touko. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I can defend myself, even if some idiot walks in unannounced. I saw you battling on TV! You were great!”

“Thanks mom. Are you sure you’re gonna be fine? I could be home in a few hours, and it wouldn’t be much of a hassle.”

“I’m sure! Enjoy your evening and say hello to your friends for me! Love you!”

“Love you!” After she hung up, she composed herself, trying to cover up her obvious fear. She didn’t want to have to explain it to anyone else tonight. She just wanted to be proud of her victory and enjoy the celebration of it. She walked through the door silently, trying not to attract attention. The room was rather loud, bustling with waiters and waitresses, conversations were being had, and Touko just tried to stay away from it all. She was walking slightly away from the table when one of the waitresses fell toward her, having put a little much on her plate. Touko caught her and the before she hit the ground, but the plate went against her side, slitting the rib area of her dress. It hit the ground with a clatter as 4 plates of food, half a dozen glasses of wine, and the silver of the utensils and the platter smacked into the ground. All the glassware shattered into pieces. 

“Are you okay?” Touko’s tone was gentle, almost as if she knew this person.

“Oh, your dress! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine. Are you okay though?”

“Yeah. I was trying to carry a little much.” The entire room was silent, staring at the two girls. Waiters and waitresses stopped, and the guests all looked over.

“What the hell are you guys looking at? This very clearly is under control, so go back to whatever it was you were talking about before.” Her tone was very different, almost like she had changed personas. It was angry and annoyed. The tone must have been understood because the whole room continued eating, and started talking again. Touko helped the girl off the ground, steadying her as she stood.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I thought I could carry it all.” Touko lifted her dress slightly, wanting to see how much wine had gotten on it.

“It’s fine. Just don’t push it that hard.” Touko stepped over to get out of the puddle. She took her heels off and hooked her finger around the rim of the shoe. “Besides, the show must go on. I’m sure it happens a lot in this business, so just ask someone to help you clean it up and move on. No sense in dwelling on it.”

“Yeah. I better get on that. Thanks for the catch!”

“Anytime.” Touko smiled as she walked over to Bianca and Cheren, who were wearing a badge that allowed them to be here.

“That was interesting. First, you caught someone carrying a thing of food, which then hit you, then you told an entire room of trainers and celebrities to shove off. What’s next Touko, are you actually going to drink alcohol?”

“Yes actually. I do intend to drink. Call me stupid, but right now, I really want to be drunk.”

“Ah. I see Bianca and I are going to have to drag you back to your hotel room. Again.” Touko had a sly smile on her face.

“Probably. What can you do right?”

“Nothing. Bianca tried it and doesn’t like it, and I don’t drink. You’re the only one of us who is willing to get drunk.” The three laughed. Touko enjoyed the food (it was really good, but her mom was still a better cook) and she was also really liking the wine. It may have been fairly weak, so if she had a few glasses, she would only be on the heavily tipsy side of the scale, not on the drunk side of the scale. Touko was joyous when she had alcohol going through her system, and she needed something to laugh about, so she figured it was worth the hangover she would get. On her second glass she heard a voice behind her.

“You know, you probably shouldn’t be drinking that much of that. Certainly not as fast as you are.” Touko recognized the voice, so she turned toward its owner and saw someone with blonde hair, cut in a specific way, and very rigid.

“Holy shit, your Elesa! That’s awesome!”

“Indeed I am. I see you’re a fan. It is nice to meet a new fan.”

“Awesome! Hey Bianca, look! It’s your celebrity crush!” Bianca’s face turned red as a tomato, very embarrassed by her friend.

“Touko! We're in public! Why did you have to say that out loud, right next to her?”

“I wanted to get your attention silly! It’s not everyday you get to meet freaking Elesa, right?”

“Do not worry, finding out you have a crush on me is in no way strange. I have had some weird ones in the past though.”

“What do you mean? How is finding out from a tipsy fan that her friend has a crush on you not strange?”

“I’ve had weirder, trust me. I’ve had people send sex toy replicas of me, so almost nothing freaks me out.” Touko looked back at Elesa.

“Nice to know who to avoid on the street. Anyone that sends you a sex toy replica of yourself. What the hell do you even do with tha-” Bianca put her hand around Touko’s mouth. Whenever Touko was drunk, her weird scale of inhibitions got thrown way out of whack. Things she didn't talk about openly became conversation choices that she often went to. That was actually how Cheren found out about Bianca and Touko’s little sex adventure. She still wouldn’t do anything she normally wouldn’t, but she would consider it. But the things that would come out of her mouth were strange.

“It seems as though your friend doesn’t take liquor well. Maybe next time, you should bring a gag so she can’t say whatever incredibly strange things come out of her head.”

“Yeah, even though it was awkward it was still super cool to meet you! Me and Touko here have been long time fans, so it’s super cool to see you in person.”

“I look forward to seeing you three again when Touko isn’t drunk. After all, I’m a gym leader too.” Cheren chimed in.

“I’m sorry, which leader are you?”

“Oh I’m Unova’s electric gym leader.” Touko stopped for a moment. She forgot about Elesa’s gym. She thought about it and suddenly, her deep rooted fear of lighting mixed with the alcohol decided that it would mix together, creating something horrific. Suddenly, she was in a cage where the walls and floor were made of sparking wire, and they were slowly starting to close in on her. She huddled as far away from them as possible, but when one touched her, she opened her eyes, and she was on the floor, breathing heavily. She wasn’t sure where she was, but couldn’t really feel any part of her body. She couldn’t move anything but her eyes, and all she could hear was muffled yelling. She tried to get up, but couldn’t. She tried again, but all that did was make breathing harder. Touko didn’t know what was going on, but she heard more muffled shouting before some people ran over and picked her up. One of the people put a finger on her throat, then pulled out a syringe, filled it with something, and gave it to the girl. She fought the medication, trying not to fall asleep, but it was too strong, so eventually the world faded to black around her.


	5. Creepy Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Touko wakes from her sleep, she watches her friends battle the gym leaders. She also battles Cheren to once again win. When Cheren questions why he lost and Touko tries to help, he shuts her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a great day and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Touko drifted through consciousness and unconsciousness for three days, but even when she was awake, everything seemed lucid. She felt as though she had been hit by a zubat’s supersonic. It wasn’t pleasant, and made her feel as though she was seeing doubles. On day four, she woke up feeling less strange and more sick and confused. She sat up and felt a tug on her arm. She looked over and saw an empty IV. She looked down and saw a blue gown. It looked old but was rather comfy. She continued her look around until she got to the right side of the room where she saw some flowers, a few get well cards, and two pokeballs. She finally took note of where she was. She was back in her hotel room. She released the mechanism on one of the pokeballs and Shell came out. He landed with a soft thud, and walked over to his trainer.

“What happened?”

“Good question. I don’t remember coming back to the hotel room. Better question, why am I strapped to an IV?”

“I don’t know. Want to ask Aurora?” A panicked look grew on her face.

“Shit, shit, shit. What if they found him? What if they took him?” She rummaged through her bag, opening being very relieved to find his pokeball still in the bag. “Okay. Okay. We're all fine. Everything is okay.”

“Are you okay?”

“Not really. I don’t remember what happened, but I feel out of it. I wonder what’s in this IV.”

“Well, why don’t we call Cheren? See what happened.”

“Good idea Shell.” She dialed Cheren and he picked up.

“Ah, I see the sedation agent finally wore off. How are you doing Touko?”

“What the hell happened to me?”

“You collapsed at the party. You were sent to the ER, and then moved to your hotel room. Anyway, did you need anything else? I’m about to be called for my challenge.”

“I thought you already did that.”

“Nope. All challenges were pushed back.”

“Because of one girl collapsing at a party?”

“Yeah. Anyway, I’m up, so I’ve got to go.”

“Good luck!”

“Luck has nothing to do with it.” The two hung up, and Touko sat there wondering what to do next.

“Hey Shell could you make sure the door is locked?” Touko unhooked the IV.

“Sure.” He waddled over to the door, noting it was indeed locked. “It’s locked. Why?”

“Don’t worry about it. Can you go into your pokeball for now?”

“Okay” The pokemon hit the recall button of its pokeball. Touko stripped down, not wanting to go into public spaces looking like a mental facility patient. She chose another pair of shorts and a blue T-shirt. She did like the gown however, it was comfy. It felt like she wasn’t wearing anything, which was nice, but made her constantly wonder if she was walking around nude. She didn’t like the anxiety of that. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the room. She walked over to the gym, wishing she could go watch Cheren battle. She couldn’t though. She didn’t have a badge to gain access. She didn't even have a reservation. She decided to head over to the restaurant anyway. She wanted to watch it, even if not in person. She stopped in the lobby and looked at the large television. Cheren was doing well, but he was still kind of struggling. He eventually won, but it took longer than Touko thought it would. It also looked as though Cheren was irritated, having taken so long. Next up was Bianca and Cress. Bianca walked up, worried looking. Cress took his position, confident and in his ready stance. Bianca was unsure of her odds, and she was sure she looked it. She would feel better if she could see Touko. Touko and Cheren made her feel confident and ready for anything. Cheren couldn’t be identified in the crowd, and she wasn’t sure Touko was even awake yet. She was sedated and the doctor said it would take her days to wake up. 

“Okay, time to focus. Touko is going to be fine. The doctor said she would be fine, so she will be!”

“Umm. Bianca? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just worried.”

“About Touko?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

“I still wish she was here. She helps me with my confidence.”

“Well, maybe she’s watching. Even if she doesn’t have a badge, it is broadcast to the TV in the lobby.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess we better get started then.” The two threw out their first pokemon. Bianca’s Pansage was quite strong and landed a few solid hits before Cress changed his strategy. He recalled his elemental pokemon and threw out his lillipup. Bianca saw what he was trying to do. She switched to her Tepig, knowing full well she didn’t want her biggest advantage to be wasted on this strategic change. She wasn’t as fast as Touko with her commands though, so it dragged on for a few minutes before her pokemon finally knocked Cress’ pokemon out. Bianca pulled out her Pansage after this. She didn’t want her Tepig getting hurt badly because of its type disadvantage. She used a potion on her injured friend and kept fighting. She knew she had to make her few potions count though. Cress was well known for being strategic, and even if he only had one or two potions, he could still win battles of attrition. Bianca suddenly had an idea. She quickly called her Tepig back out. She knew it wouldn’t be able to beat the monkey, but she also knew something Touko did was try to confuse someone with seemingly nonsensical moves, but build toward an eventual victory while they tried to figure out what you were doing.

“Okay Tepig, focus on dodging all of his attacks. Use ember when you have an opening, but other than that, keep dodging!” Cress stared at her in wonder.

“Why would you do that? It makes no sense!”

“I have my reasons. See if you can figure it out! Tepig, let’s go!” Her Tepig followed her instructions to the letter. It knew it couldn’t keep it up forever but assumed its trainer was doing this for a reason. She was. She was hoping to do some damage to it and burn it. This would weaken the panpour and make using its only viable move against her Pansage difficult. Her Tepig quickly burned the pokemon but got it by a blast of water right after. It stood up with some difficulty. “Okay Tepig. That’s good. Back to Pansage.” Touko beamed with pride in her friend. Bianca was using strategic thinking. It may have taken a few minutes longer, but the entire crowd was on the edge of their seats. The battle was fast after that. With its inability to fight back effectively being destroyed, the Panpour didn’t last long.

“Well, that went surprisingly well!” The crowd was yelling and people were going crazy. Bianca went out of the arena and toward the lobby. She was walking out when she saw Touko sitting there. Smiling at her.

“Touko!”

“You did great Bianca! He never stood a chance!”

“Well, I learned from you. If you didn’t give me the idea, I would’ve lost!”

“Maybe. Still, nice to see strategic thinking. Cheren’s was boring. It was weird to see him so angry about it. After all, he did win.”

“I think he saw how quickly you did it and he thought he should be able to do it that quickly.”

“Speaking of which, where is he?”

“He’s probably trying to get out of the stands. They aren’t quite as packed as they were for your fight, but Cheren moves slowly so you know.”

“I heard that Bianca. Hey Touko. Feeling better than you were an hour ago?”

“A little. Not much though. What the hell happened to me? Did I hit my head?”

“Nope. You just sort of fell over at the party. We were talking to Elesa and you just collapsed. They sedated you, said something about your heart rate being unusually high.”

“If I was having heart problems, why was I back in my room? Also, I met Elesa? Why don’t I remember that? That’s awesome!” Bianca and Cheren looked at her like she was crazy.

“Touko, they thought you might have had a heart attack! It may not have turned out to be a heart attack, but you still could have been hurt!”

“Well, what was it then?”

“Some sort of severe anxiety attack, mixed with stress and alcohol, anxiety attacks tend to be bad.”

“Okay, but I’ve been far more drunk, under far higher stress, and far more anxious before. Like right after finals, where I was worried about failing.”

“We don’t know. Either way, you aren’t drinking when we go back there.”

“No offence Cheren but I don’t really want to go again. I apparently made quite the issue last time and my dress got damaged.”

“So what are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know. It’s what, four days away? I might go around and look for pokemon. That is a task we have, so I might as well. Besides, Zorro and Shell need to get some more training in. It’ll be useful later.”

“Actually, do you want to battle? I want to test how strong I’ve become.”

“Okay. I have no problem with that. Just not here. I don’t think they want us battling here.”

“Duh. This place is very way too fancy for us to destroy it. Come on you two, let’s go over to the dreamyard.” The trio walked over to the area filled with trainers, always raring to go. It was this town's training grounds. Touko and Cheren pulled out their pokeballs and released their pokemon. Touko knew he would lead with his starter. He always did. She was right too, and his Snivy was met with Zorro.

“What, did your trainer want to lose again? He is so competitive, but he is really no competition.”

“I disagree. For all you know, he was holding back some last time.”

“Maybe, but my trainer was holding back a lot, and she still destroyed him. Besides, even if he does pull some magic win, it doesn’t matter. My trainer will still be proud of our efforts. Can you say the same?” The Snivy looked down.

“I think so. I’m not too sure though.” 

“Hey, I didn’t mean to make you sad! Come on, get your head in the game! Make it so even if you do lose, your trainer has to be proud of you!”

“Do you think he will be?”

“If you give it your all, why wouldn’t he? If Touko is friends with him, he must be nice. So just go for it!”

“You are aware you are hyping me up to battle you right?”

“Yeah, I know! I want to see you fight! Not mope about!”

“Okay, but don’t expect me to hold back!”

“Snivy, use Vine Whip!” The pokemon attacked aggressively, but the Zorua was rather graceful. It dodged and waited for a command.

“Zorro, use pursuit!” It was carried out with ruthless efficiency, and ended up with Snivy slamming the ground.

“Come on, get up! Show him what you’re made of! I’ll let you land an attack!” The Snivy got up.

“Are you sure? That sounds incredibly stupid.”

“Yeah. Just hit me when he orders you to!”

“Snivy! Use Vine Whip again!” This time, the Zorua let it hit him. He felt kind of bad that this pokemon’s trainer made it unsure if it was doing a good job.

“Hey, that actually hurt! Good job!”

“Thanks!”

“Zorro, use shadow ball!” 

“And there goes that. See you around.” The Snivy couldn’t move out of the way, and it took the full brunt of the attack. Touko was kind of sad that she did that though, it sounded like Zorro and Snivy were sort of working together. She recalled Zorro and sent out Shell to finish it, which he did. In one turn. The Pansear was kind of screwed against the water type.

“I don’t get it. Shouldn’t we be around the same strength? We have the same number of badges. What did I do wrong?”

“Maybe you should spend some time working with Snivy. He looks a little apprehensive about everything. Like you aren’t going to be proud of the effort he gives.”

“Yeah, maybe. Since you seem to have a knack for this, what should I do?”

“Try congratulating him more. Win or lose. Being supportive goes a long way.”

“Don't be stupid. If Snivy wasn't getting stronger, we wouldn't have been able to win at the gym. It must be something else.”

“You don't need to be mean about it. I'm only trying to help."

"Yes well, who's studied this more? Me or you?"

"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't try to give advice anymore. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to do.” Touko walked off toward the store. She had some things to grab because it was her last night she was staying in Striaton.

“She’s so awesome.”

“I know Cheren.”

“It bothers me! If she was interested in you, which I thought she was for a time…”

“That wasn’t her choice! I forced her into that! Don’t act like that was her fault! Besides, she knows you have a crush on her! She thinks it’s really weird that you continue even after she’s made that abundantly clear!”

“Okay, okay. Calm down Bianca, I know I shouldn’t have brought it up, but it still bothers me.”

“Well maybe if we both just let the crush on Touko thing go, it’ll be easier on us. She may always be horny, but not for either one of us.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oops! I didn’t mean to say that out loud!”

“Didn’t know that. Don’t think I wanted to know that either. I assume she’s done it with more people?”

“Cheren, no! She hasn’t! It just slipped out of my mouth! Please just forget I said it, okay?”

“Okay. From this moment forward, you never said that out loud, and I never heard it.”

“Thanks Cheren. I didn’t mean for it to slip out.” The two continued on, awkward silence reigning for the rest of their trip back to the hotel. They went to their separate rooms, and Bianca decided she wanted to do something. She pulled a small video she had secretly taken of Touko (it was creepy but it was the only way Bianca could get a video of her crush) and pulled her skirt down. She may have said that to Cheren earlier, but she still really wanted Touko. Meanwhile, Touko was at the store, buying some things. She always kept condoms in her first aid kit, not just in case she wanted to get intimate, but also because she knew they were good at stopping bleeding. The clerk gave her a strange look.

“I know I’m not supposed to judge, but that’s a ton of those.” Touko’s face went red.

“Oh no, you misunderstand! I keep these in my first aid kit in case I injure myself and need to stop severe bleeding! I’m not using these for, y’know, other stuff!”

“Oh. Sorry for the misunderstanding.” Touko paid and sat down, opening her aid kit and putting them in there. She walked out of the door and jogged over to the hotel. She wanted to spend some time with her friends before she headed out in the morning, so she walked up to Bianca’s room and knocked. She heard a loud clattering and out of concern, she threw open the door, wanting to make sure her friend was alright. She walked in and heard what Bianca was doing, so she turned around and locked the door before stepping back out. She didn’t want to embarrass Bianca by going up to her and saying ‘hey, stop it. We are going to go hang out before I leave in the morning.’ That would be wrong. That and really strange. Bianca heard the door close however, so she threw her camera onto the fridge.

“Hello? Is someone there?” No response. She decided to text Touko about it.

“Hey, were you just up at my room?”

“Yeah. I was going to ask you something, but I figured it out.”

“What did you want to ask?”

“I wanted to know when you thought would be a good time to leave in the morning. I settled on around 5:30.”

“That sounds really early. Especially for you.”

“Yeah, but even if I was walking straight there, it would still take 12 hours to get to the next city. I’m also not going straight there.”

“When are you going to bed?”

“Probably when I get back to my room. I have a long day ahead of me, and since it’s about 4, I’ll get plenty of sleep.”

“Well, say goodbye in the morning would you?”

“I’ll text you. Goodnight! Sleep tight! Don’t be having nightmares! Trust me!” Bianca put her Xtranciever down. She was so scared that Touko had seen her with the pictures she had taken, but was happy to see that she was safe. She had been thinking about it, and decided to delete those pictures. They were from a love life she would never have. That and it was creepy of her to be keeping pictures of her best friend wearing a skimpy swimsuit. It was very creepy, even to her. She deleted them and moved on. Touko sat down on her bed and let her pokemon (except for Aurora) out onto the bed.

“So guys, what did you think of today?”

“I feel kind of bad about it. I made Cheren’s Snivy doubt itself, and that really sucked. But at the same time, I made Snivy happy when I told him his attack really hurt, which it did. So I don’t know what to think.”

“Yeah the entire thing was weird. Get ready for bed. We have to be up early.” All three of them went over, got ready and went to bed. Touko didn’t have any nightmares that night, instead, having a pleasant dream. A dream in which her parents and her were visiting a fair together. A dream with no one giving Touko rude remarks. She slept soundly that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demonizing Bianca and Cheren. Don't worry, it isn't just because I want people to suffer. I'm not that mean. I have plans for all this. Hope y'all liked the chapter! School starts soon, so I might not be updating as quickly.


	6. Death and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko has some fun while N the noise. Later, Touko happens upon a brutal scene that would stay with her for quite some time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! I really enjoyed writing this one! Not really sure why, maybe it's the morbid side of me. Anyway, if you have a disliking of blood, you should probably skip over some parts of the chapter. Don't worry, you'll figure it out.

When Touko woke up at about 3 and realized she overestimated how much sleep she could get, she groaned. She grabbed her pokeballs and put her pokemon into them, thinking about her next move. She looked around wondering if anywhere would be open at this hour. She got dressed and got ready for the day, before sitting down and absent mindedly letting her hand snake into her panties. She didn’t even realize until she felt her hand become wet.

“Ah, damnit! Fuck it. Looks like I’m going to need different shorts for the day.” She unzipped her shorts and pulled both her panties and her shorts down. “Well, might as well go the whole nine yards.” She went over to her bag and pulled out the dildo she had bought several days prior. She layed down, massaging herself with its tip before shoving it in. She threw her head back with a moan as she pounded herself with the toy. She could feel it rubbing against her sensitive vagina, and all it did was make her want more. She got up, readjusted so she was on her knees, and began fisting herself while still using the dildo. “Fuck the nine yards! I’m feeling a marathon!” She started going at it harder, letting herself get right up to cumming before she would start strumming her crotch with the flaccid dildo, never letting the Ecstasy go in any amount. She stayed in the position for nearly fifty minutes, letting her hand go deep into her ass and sticking the dildo all the way into her clit. When she finally couldn’t hold it anymore she orgasmed hard, a puddle forming as she sprayed fluids all over the bed. Her eyes once again rolled back as she face planted into the bed. She removed her hand from her ass and brought the dildo to her lips. She licked the Vaginal fluid off of the tip before sticking it in her mouth and deepthroating it. She choked on the dildo, quite enjoying it. She continued rubbing herself, sticking several fingers in and wanting to let herself continue squirting. She got her wish, as orgasm after orgasm popped up, each one renewing her motions. Finally, after much time, she stopped practising her blowjobs and stuck her dildo up her ass, twisting it, and cumming for the last time. Touko bucked her hips as the liquid sprayed everywhere, letting a particularly loud noise as she groped her breasts. Her body spasmed as she removed the object, trembling with ecstasy. She stopped and fell asleep, needing a nap. 

N was confused. He had heard something, but he wasn’t sure what. He asked Zoroark what was happening, so it listened closely.

“It seems as though someone is enjoying themself. Although why at 3:00 in the morning?”

“Should I go ask whoever it is to stop?”

“No. It is not worth it. I’m sure it will be done soon.” Zoroark was wrong, Touko had just started, and she kept going for an hour and a half. The two were dumbfounded. N because he simply didn’t understand what was going on, and Zoroark because of how long it was going on. He was amazed at the endurance the human making the noise had. Suddenly, they heard a louder noise, followed by silence.

“Is it over?”

“I think so. Whoever must finally be satisfied with their job.”

“What was that person doing?”

“I’m not going to explain it to you. We are just going to forget about tonight, okay? Besides, you have things to do in the morning. Like a gym challenge, assuming they have a normal day tomorrow.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right. Still I’m confused. Why would anyone actively disturb others like that? That seems impolite.”

“It is, but I think it’s a thing many do. It has to do with chemical changes in their bodies.”

“So they don’t have a choice?”

“They do, but it’s hard to resist. Desire like that is a hard thing to fight.”

“I guess. Is the person alright?” Zoroark cackled.

“Yes. Your father didn’t teach you much of the outside world, did he?” N shook his head.

“No. Why would he? The only thing I have come here to do is work toward my ideal. Anything else is a waste of time.”

“When is the battle?”

“When the gym opens at 11 AM.” Zoroark snickered. “What’s so funny?”

“Ah, nothing.”

“What? Did I say something?”

“Oh nothing. I was just wondering if we’d see your friend Touko.”

“Not this again!”

“Don’t worry. I’m messing with you. You need sleep.”

“Okay. Good night? Maybe morning? Whatever.”

Touko woke up when her alarm went off at 5:15. She felt sore but well rested.

‘Geez Touko, you must have been really exhausted after that, because you slept in that. That might explain why you’re so cold. Hey, at least you got up to your alarm.’ Touko grabbed her clothes to take a fast shower. She was keenly aware of the weird label mess up, so she didn’t turn the incorrect knob this time. When she was in the shower, she was singing a song that her mother wrote to sing to her. It was written when she had horrible nightmares the first time in Unova. This song was special and was her favorite song, far surpassing any other. It was the only good thing to ever come out of her nightmares and she cherished the song. It constantly got stuck in her head, but she was fine with it. She wouldn’t sing or hum it out loud. Not even Cheren and Bianca knew what it sounded like and they were people Touko trusted like family. She stepped out of the shower, singing cheerfully while getting dressed as she stepped out of the bathroom. Touko walked over, grabbed her bag, and walked out of the room. She left a tip in the room, went downstairs, and checked out of the hotel. It was still dark, so Aurora was called out, along with Shell and Zorro.

“Where are we going?”

“For now, we’re going to explore some.”

“Where did you want to explore?”

“I don’t know. But since Bianca and Cheren are tied down for a few days, we can all hang out together! It’ll be fun!” The four walked around, exploring areas and catching pokemon. They were unsure of where they wanted to go, which made Touko happy. No destination, just traveling with her pokemon. She was actually recording Aurora playing with her other two pokemon at a small stream. Suddenly, she heard a pokemon’s screech of pain. She turned toward it and ran, seeing two Plasma members kicking a pokemon. Touko couldn’t stand back and watch, so she drew her knife and ordered Suicune to follow her. She also told her other pokemon to stay out of sight.

“Come on! Give it to us stupid!”

“Stop it! Leave that pokemon alone!”

“Girl, you don’t know anything about this! Go away!”

“I know that if you want to keep on living, you’d better stop hurting that Munna!”

“Oh let’s go girl. You don’t even have any pokemon with you, how are you going to stop us?”

“Okay, call me girl again. You’ll see exactly what happens to the kind of people who piss me off and abuse pokemon who are just enjoying life in the wilderness!”

“Enough. We won’t say it again. Leave immediately, or there will be consequences.”

“Okay. I’ve had enough of this. Aurora! Let’s deal with them!” The large pokemon didn’t wait for the two grunts to get their pokeballs out. Instead, it went after them. It threw one against a tree and bit down on the other’s wrist so hard that it snapped, leaving the wrist just dangling there by the skin. Even Touko was shocked by this. Not the immense power her friend held, but rather that Aurora chose to show its power off here. Aurora must have really not liked these guys.

“What the fuck?! My fucking wrist!”

“Do not threaten my friend. If you do, there will be consequences.” The man had no idea what the pokemon’s roar meant, but decided to back down.

“I’m going to call the police. You guys are in deep shit.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“I’d be concerned if I were you. Assault of a pokemon, threatening the bodily safety of a minor, battery. These are serious charges. What, the threat alone is already parole after being in prison for 3 months, and it’s the least serious charge.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to see you squirm. Hello, I just stopped two men from Team Plasma from beating a pokemon. They also threatened me when I told them to stop. We’re at a small hill just out of town.”

“Okay, we’ll be right there. Do you have a light you can put up so we can see you?”

“Yeah. I’ll set it up. Bye.” Touko grabbed her flashlight and a few officers showed up. Touko gave them a recount of what had happened, and the two were driven to the hospital to deal with their injuries.

“Well, that was interesting. Did you get all of that on camera too?”

“Yeah. When we get to the next city, I’ll go to the library and edit it so we can have some nice memories separate from Team Plasma. That and It’ll be nice to use against them should the need arise.” Shell toddled up to Aurora.

“Geez Aurora, I didn’t know you were that powerful! That was awesome!”

“Practised hands make for quick work. I should very much like to see you two fight. Hopefully not humans however.”

“We’d like to see you fight in battle too! Will you?”

“Touko?” Touko was busy seething, hatred rushing through her. She held the bloody Munna in her arms, trying to comfort it. Blood pooled in Touko’s hands.

‘Yeah, sure, call me the horrible person for training pokemon. At least I’m not the one ordering my men to beat down pokemon to achieve my goals! So remind me again, who’s the bad guy? Next time I see that fucker, I’m going to make sure he suffers for this poor Munna.’

“Touko?”

“ Huh? Oh, sure, if you want to. Why don’t we keep going for a bit and when we find a trainer, Aurora will battle. Could you guys wait over there for me?”

“That sounds good to me. Come. We should get moving.” She held the dying pokemon in her hands as it called for its family. Touko was trying to staunch the bleeding, but there was too much. The pokemon began to speak to her telepathically.

“Stop. Don’t waste your time. It’s too late for me. You have friends waiting for you.”

“I’m not leaving you here. Just hold on a little longer. I’ll figure something out! I need to!”

“No. My family cannot help me. You cannot either. Don’t worry. I’m satisfied with life. The other Munna will take care of my children. Do not worry.”

“You’re gonna make it, just let me try again to stop the bleeding!”

“Thank you for your efforts. I must insist you stop though. You are noble and caring. Use those talents to help those that you can save.” Touko felt herself stop. She was trying to continue, but she couldn’t. She sat next to the Munna and cried. She listened to the words of the Munna, its last words burning themselves into her head. She grabbed her gloves, not wanting her pokemon to see the blood and called Aurora. Aurora dug a small grave and they headed back to the rest of her pokemon.

“Is the Munna okay?” Touko considered for a second. 

“Yes. Other Munna came to help her.”

“Yay!”

“Shall we get going?”

“Yeah. Let’s” The group continued down the road, stopping in the forest occasionally to catch and release pokemon to fill the pokedex. Every time she did it, she would feed the pokemon some berries. She wanted to give the pokemon something back for freaking them out slightly. One small Minccino walked up to them. It looked about the same age as the others, but was much smaller than its brethren. It stopped in front of Touko and her pokemon when they approached. It waved its paw in a friendly manner.

“Hi!” Zorro went up and sniffed the pokemon.

“Hi! What’s your name?”

“I don’t have a name! Do you?”

“Yeah! My trainer named me Zorro when I asked her for a name!”

“What’s a Zorro?”

“He was an awesome guy who fought to protect those who couldn’t fight for themselves!”

“Cool! I wish I had a name.”

“Why don’t you come with us? Touko is really nice, and she is super fun to have conversations with!”

“Conversations? But she can’t understand us, can she?”

“Yes she can! She hides it from other people, but she can talk to us and understand us!”

“Are you sure, she’d want me? I’m weaker than the other Minccino nearby.” Touko frowned at the creature.

“Well since you happen to be talking to Zorro, ask him my thoughts on that.”

“Yeah, she really doesn’t like it when we compare strength to those around us. Like, at all.” The Minccino turned to Touko.

“Can I come with you? I’m tired of being lost in the sea of my family. I can’t express myself when I’m here.”

“Of course! I mean, what girl wants to be anything but unique? Certainly no girl I’ve ever met!”

“Yay!” Touko pulled out a pokeball and the Minccino allowed itself to be caught. “Can I go say bye to my family? It will only take a minute, I promise!”

“Calm down! I am not going to stop you from talking to your family!” The Minccino jumped up one of the trees and jumped away. 

“Hey guys! I’m leaving! I found a trainer who I want to go with!” The entire area went over and asked her a series of questions. Everything from what gender Touko was to what she looked like.

“Well, I have to get going. See you guys later!” The Minccino jumped down, landing right next to Touko. “I’m back!”

“That was short.”

“Yeah. My family doesn’t operate on ‘normal family rules’. We don’t really care much about each other.” Shell stepped forward.

“Well, you have a new family now, and we look after each other!”

“Oh yes, introductions. You’ve already met Zorro, this is Shell, and this is Aurora.”

“Nice to meet you guys!”

“Likewise. This one seems to have quite the energy stored up, doesn’t it?

“Yep. We’ll figure out a nickname for you when we set up camp. For now, let’s get going before it gets too warm.” Shell and Aurora walked alongside Touko while Zorro and Minccino walked behind her.

“So, tell me about Touko.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything!”

“Well, if you want to know everything, asking Aurora would be the better choice. Aurora has known her since she lived in Johto. All I can say is don’t bring up fire, lightning, or the tower.”

“Why?”

“The tower is where Touko met Aurora, but also where she met two others that looked kind of like Suicune. She is deathly afraid of fire and lightning because of whatever happened there. I don’t know what exactly that was, but Touko doesn’t like talking about it so I don’t bring it up much with her.”

“So how do I ask? And when?”

“Whenever Touko isn’t around.”

“But how do I ask the scary one?”

“Aurora? Aurora is only scary if you hurt or threaten Touko.”

“I disagree. I’m nothing but a snack to that one!”

“Trust me. Aurora is really smart, and would never hurt you. If Aurora wanted to hurt you, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Not helping!”

“Yeah, I guess not. If you want a second opinion, you could ask Shell. He is probably the most straight forward of us.”

“Good idea. I’ll go talk to him!” The small Minccino quickly pranced over to Shell, tapping the Oshawatt’s shoulder.

“Did you need something?”

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you a question.”

“About what?”

“Aurora and Touko.”

“You do realize that both of those people are right next to us, and can hear every word you say right? Especially Aurora. Even the quietest voices from long distance are nothing for Aurora.”

“Oh. I wonder if he heard Zorro’s and I’s conversation”

“Without a doubt. But if you have a question about either of them, Aurora would be the one to talk to.” The pokemon tilted it’s head.

“Aren’t you guys scared?”

“Of what?”

“Of the pokemon that is nearly a foot taller than it’s trainer, and seems to be very strong!”

“Nope. Also, it’s rude to talk about someone like they aren’t right there. Again, he can hear us.”

“Sorry. Sometimes things just come out of my mouth.”

“Well, don’t apologize to me, apologize to Aurora!” The two went back and forth for a few minutes, with Shell trying to get their newest addition to work up the courage to talk to the legendary, and her trying to squirm her way out of it. Finally, Shell grabbed her and dragged her over to Aurora.

“Put me down!”

“You are going to talk to Aurora. There’s no way out of it!” Touko giggled as the two bickered. She thought it was cute how Shell was almost protective of Aurora, even making people apologize to the legendary when they said something that Shell thought was mean.

“It seems as though Shell feels strongly about this apology!”

“So it seems. Hello young one.” The Minccino looked a bit terrified, as if the Suicune was actually going to eat her.

“...”

“Do not worry. I will not harm you. What is it you were wondering?”

“I’ll ask later.”

“I see. Shall we discuss this later than?”

“Yes please.” Shell held on tightly to his new comrade.

“Say sorry!” The Minccino looked down, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be offensive.”

“I am not offended. I doubt Touko is either. After all, very few understand the situation you find yourself in.”

“Okay.” Shell put the Minccino down.

“See? It wasn’t hard was it?”

“It was scary!”

“Sorry. But if I didn’t, you wouldn’t have apologized.” The group continued going until a group of four well dressed guys passed her. Aurora stood off to the side, hiding behind a large shrub.

“Hey, hey, hey! Look at this hottie!”

“Hey girl, why are you walking out here alone?”

“Ummm. I’m hanging out with my pokemon and working on a project.”

“You could hang out with us. We’ll take good care of you!”

“Come on Jer, leave her be. She looks uncomfortable!”

“Well, since you’re out here, why don’t you have a battle with us?”

“All three of you? At once? Brave of you.”

“Shall we?”

“Sure why not.” The three men grabbed their pokeballs. One for each of them. Touko’s Shell and her new Minccino.

“Only two? That’s cocky.”

“Oh no, there’s more.” Touko whistled and Aurora jumped out, slamming its massive paws into the ground.

“Holy shit. Who the hell are you?”

“A pokemon trainer.”

“We see that!”

“You two need to stop being babies! Who cares if she has a big scary pokemon? Let’s show her who’s boss!”

“You said it Jed! Let’s kick her ass!” Minccino and Shell went up against a Panpour and a Pansage, while Aurora went up against Pansear. 

“Your trainer is irritating me, child. I would recommend getting him to show some respect somehow.”

“Well, aren’t you all high and mighty! What are you gonna do about it punk?”

“Do not test me. Unless of course, you don’t much care for your well being.” 

“Shut it punk!” The Pansear attacked, flamethrowing at Aurora. The Pokemon walked out of the fire, obviously not being remotely bothered by the flames.

“Your move choice is strong, but your training has left you weak. What did you expect? Your strength is from a machine, from money. Not from care or from love.” Aurora took stance.

“Aurora, Blizzard! Minccino use echoed voice, and Shell use Water gun!” The trio slammed the opposing team with their moves, demolishing the opposition. In the end, there was no competition.

“Oh my god! What’s wrong with you?”

“Did you want a list? It might take a long while…”

“You skank! You cheated!”

“How exactly? Just give me my money for winning, and then you won’t have to deal with me anymore.”

“Fine. Take your money and go.” One of the trio handed her a pretty large chunk of money.

“Thanks!” Touko and her pokemon walked past the group. She was happy about the turnout of that battle. The money she got would be something she could use to get her pokemon stuff they liked. Meanwhile, her pokemon were talking about the battle. 

“You were awesome Minccino!”

“Thanks Zorro!” Minccino looked at Aurora and Shell. “And you guys did great too!”

“Thank you! For your first battle, you did great!” The pokemon and Touko kept walking until they ran into a berry tree.

“Well, do you guys want to grab some food while we’re here? It looks like there are some oran berries there.”

“Yes please. Hey look at that!” The group turned toward a large pokemon. They looked at it for a second, unsure of what kind of pokemon it was. She looked at her pokedex for a second.

“A Blitzle? I wish the pokedex could give me some type info before I catch it. That would be spiffy.” The Blitzle looked up at them and sparked, the sudden move scaring Touko. “Well, I think Cheren or Bianca should catch one of those! After all, I can’t be the only one filling out the pokedex, now can I?” She chuckled nervously and backed up some. “Hey, do you guys mind just waiting on that snack? We can use some of the food in my bag, so would that be fine?” Her pokemon nodded, knowing she didn’t want to be near the electric type. The group followed Touko’s lead, going around the wild pokemon in a wide arc. They continued for a bit, eventually finding a nice opening in the forest, where Touko made breakfast for everyone. She wanted to make coffee, but really wasn’t up to putting up a fire to make some. She just made some basic food for the group and had some conversations with them. Touko didn’t eat much, knowing that the group was a little large to eat much.

“Y’know Touko, you can eat the food. You made it.” She looked over at Shell.

“I know. It’s just that if I eat much, there won’t be enough for everyone else. That would make me feel bad.” Aurora shook its head.

“You not being healthy enough was the reason you collapsed in the first place. You may not take alcohol well, but it neither makes your issues worse, nor does it make you collapse. Your not eating isn’t helping that.”

“I know. Still, you guys need to eat too and I don’t really have that much food on me. It isn’t like my backpack is that large, so I can’t carry much food.” Zorro walked over to her.

“It’ll be fine. When you found me, I hadn’t eaten in about a week. I think I can go a few hours being slightly hungry if it means you get to eat more. Besides, currently only one of us is bigger than you, so you need more stuff than us.” Touko smiled and took some more food. It still made her feel guilty, but she knew they wouldn’t let her go anywhere if she didn’t. When they finished, Touko looked over to the road and saw a shiny rock, nearly sparkling with the early morning sun. She walked over and picked it up, examining it closely. It was a reflective rock, almost translucent everywhere but the middle. It was a nice rock, so she put it in her pocket. Her pokemon caught up with her a few seconds later, curious as to what she saw.

“What was that shiny thing?”

“It was a nice rock. Very reflective though. Shall we keep moving?” She limped a little as they walked, still quite sore from before. She didn’t like it, but she wasn’t going to stop masturbating anytime soon either. Touko viewed it as a give and take situation that she got quite a lot out of for a low cost. Even if the cost was not being able to walk without feeling like her hip was getting split.

‘I wonder how actually doing it with a guy feels. Just taking it in while he thrusts into you. I don’t even know who I would do it with. Not Cheren.’ Just then, a thought crossed her mind.  _ N _ . She tried to shake the thought. ‘He’s the freaking king of Team Plasma! Hardly someone who would fantasize about fucking me! Even if he did, why would I want to have sex with him? He views me as a disease! Actually, you know what? I know exactly why I want to fuck him! I’m a horny, kinda slutty, teenage girl who DOES fantasize about people having sex with me! Especially hot guys that have saved me from people.’ She was snapped from her thoughts by her Minccino jumping on her shoulder.

“Hey Minccino. We need to figure out a nickname for you. Calling you that is just weird.”

“How about you just shorten it to Mink?”

“Unless you prefer to be called a devious and deceitful pokemon, I don’t think so. Besides, a nickname is supposed to represent you, not just be a shortening of your species.”

“I guess. Anyway, I came over here because you looked mad. What’s wrong?”

“I’m angry at myself.”

“For what?”

“It’s a long story. But I suppose we have plenty of time.” Touko gave the pokemon a run down of everything that had happened with N. Everything from how he saved her from Plasma, to how she found out he was their leader.

“Wait. Isn’t that just like your secrets? You hide them so others don’t distance themselves from you. They sound similar.”

“Yeah, but what I do isn’t malicious. Team Plasma abuses pokemon and he can talk to them too, so he knows. Well, probably. Point is, next time we meet, I’m going to punch him in the stomach and show him the video we took of it. So if he doesn’t know, he will. He says trainers abuse pokemon, which some do, but so few do that in comparison to the number of Team Plasma that must do that on the regular. So even if it does hurt him to see, especially if it hurts him to see, he will learn to not order his men to do this.”

“And if he didn’t order it?”

“Then he gets to learn about it. One way or another.”

“You feel very strongly about this. You’re being very cold.”

“Yeah. I am. That Munna didn’t deserve to get beaten within an inch of her life for his… what was it that he called it? His ideal? That sounds right.”

“So the plan is to solve violence with violence?”

“Yeah. He already knows I attack people who do things like that. That was his introduction to me.”

“So are you being 100% serious? You’re just going to walk up, punch him in the stomach, show him a video, and walk away?”

“Hopefully. If I’m busy, I might not.”

“Okay then. Hopefully you change your mind about that. It seems to be a not effective way of handling the situation.”

“Maybe you’re right. Still, I’m not letting him just get away with it. You’ll find me to be quite stubborn.”

“Okay. Just think about it for a bit before you slam him to the ground. Besides that, whatcha thinkin about?”

“I’m thinking about Nacrene city and its gym. I hear that it's an extensive library with some old stuff from Johto. They want to have someone identify it, and I think Aurora might be able to.”

“Why would you do that?”

“They are giving a cash reward to people who can identify them. I figure we’ll need the money at some point, so why not now?”

“Aurora said you guys used to live in Johto. What was it like?”

“Cold. Never sunny unless you were in a few specific areas. Even then, it was still always like you were a human popsicle. Kanto is much warmer.”

“Why?”

“Mt Silver’s cold fronts would constantly blow east. I have no idea if that’s normal though. I’m an archeologist, not a meteorologist.”

“Did you ever meet anyone cool?”

“Yeah. One time, I met this guy named Red when we went to Kanto for a weekend. He was super nice, and helped me find my parents after I got lost. As I understand it, he became champion a few months later. I wonder what he’s up to now.”

“Why don’t you call him? You have the Xtransceiver-majig.”

“It doesn’t work outside of Unova, and last we talked, he didn’t want to come here. Besides, he doesn’t even have one.”

“Do you two still talk?”

“On occasion. He is one of three humans that knows about my gift. He’s kind of like an older brother. He helped me train Aurora by sending me letters of advice, and he helps my dad on a fairly regular basis.”

“He sounds like an awesome dude!”

“Yeah. We’ve been friends for years at this point. Longer than I’ve known any other friends.”

“What does he say about you keeping your gift from your other friends?”

“What?”

“I said what does this Red guy say about you hiding your ability to talk to us from Cheren and Bianca?”

“He doesn’t know what to think about it. He seems like he gets why I do it though.”

“Why do you do it?” Touko sighed. She really didn’t want to get into this right now.

“I have my reasons.” The pokemon climbed from her shoulder to her head and looked down under Touko’s hat.

“What are they though? I know you have reasons, I am just curious as to what those reasons are.” Touko figured she would have to explain it to everyone eventually, so she just decided she would get it out of the way.

“Okay everyone, storytime! I figure it’ll come up again later if I don’t tell you now, so I might as well just get it over with.”

“What did you want to tell us?”

“Minccino here asked why I don’t want people knowing about my gift. A valid question. Back when I was first coming here, I wasn’t sure the kind of reaction I would get from people being told. As the years went on, I didn’t want people knowing because I was afraid they would get angry and leave me.”

“If that was an issue, wouldn’t you just go make more friends.”

“Not really. I’m… not good at making friends. At all. I really suck at it in fact. People just don’t get along with me.”

“Why not?”

“Why not? I don’t know. That part has always confused me.” It was nearing dusk, the sun's final rays of the day beating down on them. They continued walking toward the city, the group being in a bundle of emotions. Touko was angry, Minccino was confused, and the others were a mix of confusion and hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback and whatnot is always welcome! I started this because I love this ship, but also to improve my writing for some of my classes. Any you can give would be welcome!


	7. Perceived Hatred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko and N meet once more. This time, it isn't nearly as pleasant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you all are having a great day! Enjoy the chapter!

N wasn’t taking his time. He wanted to be in the next city as quickly as possible. He didn’t want to deal with the people there in the day, but Zoroark didn’t like traveling at night. He preferred to sleep at night. They had decided to stay the night again, being completely out of energy from both their long day and from the battle with the gym leader. He had decided against the weekly banquet because he had no time. He wished to be in Nacrene quickly to challenge the gym. He wouldn’t admit it, but he really wanted to talk to Touko again. Nacrene city was always bustling, so he knew he would need time to get everything he wanted and needed to get done to a point that would be acceptable. He walked out of the hotel, putting his hair through the back of his hat. He pulled out Zoroark and the two started walking briskly.

“Well, you seem excited to leave Striaton. Why are you walking so fast?”

“We have to reach Nacrene before the gym closes. I figured we could ask a Zebstrika for a ride once we saw one.”

“I see. Why are you rushing so much? It isn’t like we are getting past the fourth gym for months after we get to Nimbasa. That gym is closed most of the year, and we will not be reaching it in time. Besides, we have other things to get done.”

“Like what?”

“We have to find you a hobby. It bothers me that you do nothing but serious things. You’re going to run yourself into the ground like that.”

“How do you figure giving me more to do will help me stay on my game for everything else?

“When people do the same for a long time, they do worse and worse at it. It is a given fact about many things. If you have something to relax with, it makes that less likely.”

“So what do I do?”

“It changes from person to person. For instance, some people may enjoy swordplay, some people like drawing, some people like looking at the ancient past. There are many more beyond that though.”

“The ancient thing sounds interesting. Do we know anyone that could point me in the correct direction?”

“I don’t know. I vaguely remember that girl Touko singing something in Latin when we were walking about in Accumula. You could ask her about it. Maybe she knows someone.”

“Is that what she was speaking? What was she singing?”

“No clue. It sounded beautiful though. One must wonder why she is a trainer. She could make it anywhere with her skillset. Latin for law and archeology, a voice for a celebrity singer, and the looks for a model. Yet, she chooses to travel with her pokemon.”

“Yes. She is strange.”

“And very well educated. Speaking of her being a trainer, didn’t you talk to her pokemon? What did they say about her?”

“They said she was kind and caring. One of them was saved by her from the forest, and the other seems to have made its sole purpose pleasing her. Not just because she is his trainer, but because he genuinely seems to want to.”

“Interesting. Should you attain your ideal, what will you do with people like her?”

“I don’t know. She forces my friends to be in pain, so she wouldn’t be able to keep them. I guess.”

“She would likely move out of Unova. It seems she loves her pokemon a great deal, so she would be unwilling to leave them in the wild.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps people like her would be able to visit their pokemon in the wild. Only if they prove they are good people though.”

“Perhaps she could even be your princess. After all, no king is complete without someone by his side. Or would you like to disagree, King N?” N’s face went very red and Zoroark just cackled. He loved the fact that he could do that. He knew N really wanted to be with Touko, even if they had barely known each other for about a week.

“Zoroark, I didn’t take you as a romanticist.”

“I’m normally not. But I can see it. Your children would be so cute! Can you imagine a child with your eyes and her hair? A blessed thought! Or how about the other way around? The possibilities are endless my mumbling and extremely embarrassed friend!” N’s face went even more red.

“So why bring it up? You must either be desperate for conversational choices, or you must be completely insane. Father would never let me do anything with Touko!” Zoroark’s expression twisted a little, sadistic and ruthless cunning filling in his face.

“Who said he had to know? For all he would know, you were working! Besides, the look on his face when he realizes you’ve had a child with a normal girl instead of someone extremely important would be priceless!”

“I don’t understand why you are so intent on us procreating!”

“Please. Don’t act like you don’t want to. You love everything about that girl. Her looks, the way she speaks, how she dresses. Everything that she is, you yearn for.” N sighed. His friend was right of course.

“She wouldn’t want me. I don’t even know how to create a child.”

“Perhaps not. She would still fall head over heels for you though. She looks at you like you’re some sort of angel.”

“I hadn’t noticed. I figured that was just how she always looked.”

“Very rarely do people look at others like that. She’s curious about you. She even approached you to talk to you at the gym. She’s interested.”

“Huh. Regardless, I think it best to keep any relationship between us as professional as possible. Doing anything else will likely get me found out as the King of Team Plasma.”

“She didn’t seem to care much about who you were before. Why would she care now?”

“Because she does not like Plasma. To her, I was just a normal bystander that chose to help her. She doesn’t seem to get along well with Plasma.”

“Maybe not. Still, you should figure out a way to approach her. Maybe it would start something.” N tossed the idea around for a moment. He figured it was worth a shot.

“Okay. When we see her again, I’ll try to start a conversation.”

Meanwhile, Touko was busy helping some of the museum aides fix the place up. She had told Lenora that she would name all of the artifacts she could in exchange for being left completely alone. She had requested this after the Plasma attack, so Lenora was pretty comfortable with it. Nearly a dozen Plasma members had landed in jail, and even though several got away, everyone was happy with the job Touko had done. She had even met Burgh, who was the bug type gym leader that she would face next. Touko beat Lenora quickly, not feeling it necessary to hide her skill as a trainer because she was not in front of a crowd like she was in Striaton. A few hours later, Touko took off the gloves she had been wearing to protect the exhibits and walked outside. She sat and talked with one of the aides that had helped her with putting the museum back together.

“Hello.”

“Hey Touko. Thanks for helping us put back together the exhibits earlier. It would have taken a week to get back to business if not for you. Now we’ll be open in only a couple days!!”

“No problem. I figured since I got to have some fun demolishing Plasma, I might as well help with the other parts too.”

“You must be pretty powerful. Burgh said you cleared the entire forest of Plasma in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, no thanks to him. He took up guard near the exit. He made me do the whole damn forest by myself. At least I got some training though. I still feel bad about it.”

“About what?”

“Plasma’s pokemon seemed so sad. It’s almost like they were asking me to help them. It didn’t feel good to go against the three or four grunts that had pokemon like that. I only managed to get a few before they escaped, but at least it’s a few pokemon that Lenora said she could work on getting back into the right hands.”

“Yeah. But hey, don’t go beating yourself up about this. You did good. Even if you didn’t get them all, you still got some of ‘em. That’s worth something.”

“I guess so. What are you gonna do now?”

“My shift is done. I’m heading home after we finish. You?”

“I have a few hours until I get started on documentation. I might go get dinner.”

“Good plan. When I get home, I’m making dinner for my family.”

“Whatcha making?”

“Enchiladas. Not the kind you see at some restaurants though. I’m making fresh ones.”

“Sounds good.”

“They are about 10000 times better than those ones that you get at restaurants. Those are the worst kind!”

“I’ll take your word for it. You seem better versed in the kitchen than I am.”

“Well, we all have a passion! Mine is cooking good food! After all, my wife and I met because of my food, and my kids all love cooking with me! It’s a win win!” Something caught Touko’s eye. A person with Tea Green hair. Anger boiled up and she made a decision.

“Well Carlos, I have something I just remembered I had to do! Enjoy your dinner!”

“Adiós! ¡Tiene una buena noche!”

“I don’t speak spanish! See you later!” She walked over to a building and flattened her back to it. 

‘Okay Touko, how are you going to do this? You could ask one of your pokemon to make a distraction for you. Would that work? I don’t want his Zoroark to attack me. I think I’ll hit him in the chest. That way I can wind him so he can’t give his Zoroark orders to attack me. Then I show him the video? I guess that’ll work.’ Touko looked around the house and saw N approaching. ‘Here he comes. Ready? Three, two, one, attack!’ Touko grabbed the post of a balcony and used it to swing herself at N, landing a blow on his chest. He doubled back, slamming into the ground. Zoroark was in total shock.

“I can’t breathe!”

“DID YOU THINK I WOULDN’T FIND OUT EVENTUALLY?! WHAT, IS THE KING OF TEAM PLASMA NOT MAN ENOUGH TO TRY TO CHANGE THE WORLD THE HARD WAY?! HUH?! ORDERING YOUR MEN TO BEAT DOWN POKEMON AND THEN SAYING I’M SICK FOR BEING A TRAINER! YOUR LUCKY I DON’T KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOUR MEN DID TO THAT MUNNA! YOU’RE A SICK, TWISTED, MANIACAL FUCK WHO DESERVES EVERY OUNCE OF PAIN YOU’VE CAUSED TO BE PUT BACK ONTO YOU!” Zoroark just stood there, confused about everything going on. Touko had come out of nowhere, slammed N to the ground, and was now ranting at him, keeping her foot on his chest to make breathing even harder.

“What Munna? What are you talking about?” N was coughing and hacking, trying to get the words to come out.

“YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHICH MUNNA!” She pulled out a copy of the recording and played it, shoving it close enough that N could see the Plasma grunts kicking it. The screams of the pokemon driving N’s heart apart. “SEE MR TRAINERS ARE EVIL FOR HAVING POKEMON BUT IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO ORDER ONE TO BE PUT TO DEATH FOR MY IDEALS? DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU’VE DONE?” She pulled up pictures of the Munna. It had blood all over it, its normal oval shape had been disturbed. Touko went from an angry yell to a beyond pissed off whisper as she kneeled on N’s chest to speak into his ear. “And guess who was there for that Munna in its last conscious moment?” Tears rolled down N’s face. Both from the extreme sadness from what he was seeing, and Touko specifically trying to hurt him for what she thought he had done. She was succeeding too. “It was me. I held that pokemon in my arms as it cried for its mother and friends. It’s last words were ‘I don’t want to die, but nothing can change my fate now. Not even you. Thank you.’ No pokemon deserves that to be its last words. So tell me N, why shouldn’t I make your last words ring the same? Why shouldn’t I move my knee forward a little and crush your windpipe? Be convincing, because I’m sure the judge will give me a lenient sentence, and I would find no greater joy than ending the man responsible for that poor Munna’s death.” N coughed, trying to speak. He was terrified of this girl. She was pure beauty, but she was also the embodiment of fear. He had no idea what to do, and he felt something touch his throat.

“I-I didn’t order that! I would never!”

“Then who did? How can I be sure you’re not lying?”

“I haven’t had contact with any Plasma members for 3 weeks! I swear!”

“Very well. Since you say you believe in pokemon so much, why don’t we ask one?” She turned to Zoroark. “You will answer. Or he will die.”

“He speaks the truth. We haven’t had any actual contact with Plasma for weeks. We had no idea about any pokemon being abused by Plasma!” Touko looked at N, almost as if she was considering killing him anyway. N began to translate

“He said-”

“I damn well know what he said! How do you think I found out in the first place?! I’ve hidden it for years, but I’m not gonna hide it today. No one around cares, so why should I?” She sighed and removed her knee from his chest before walking away, finding her way to the back of the gym where she sat and cried.

“That could have gone better. Do you still have a crush on her?”

“Zoroark, not now.” N struggled to his feet. Whatever Touko did was very effective. He figured she must have been a martial artist at some point. “Is there anything she can’t do?”

“Apparently not. Do you suppose she was telling the truth with the understanding me bit?

“Yes. If she wasn’t, I would be dead. She was holding a knife to my throat, and we both know she would have used it.” Zoroark helped up a struggling N steady himself.

“Come on. You need a break.”

“No. I want to talk to her. Where did she go?”

“Toward the gym. Are you sure this is a good plan?” N coughed some more

“Not really. Come on.” The two walked over to the gym, looking around until they heard a low voice talking behind the gym. When the two peered over the side of the building, they saw a massive pokemon. It dwarfed N and Zoroark by a massive amount and it had a rhombus shape on its head. N stepped forward and the massive pokemon didn’t even move its head. N just knew it was watching though. He knew any wrong moves would be reason enough for the beast to rip him in half.

“Why are you here?”

“Because… I don’t know. I suggested Zoroark and I should go find you. I didn’t think to plan any conversations.”

“I’m sorry about how I snapped at you earlier. It’s just that Munna died and I couldn’t do anything but keep my head high so my other pokemon wouldn’t find out. Only Aurora knows, and I didn’t want any of the others figuring it out. I was so angry.”

“For reasons that make total sense. You thought I ended a pokemon’s life. Just as a question, were its last moments less painful?”

“I think so. The screaming stopped, but other than that, she was in immense pain.”

“I see. May I sit next to you?”

“I don’t know why you would want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I? If you ignore the almost killing me part, we’ve never had any issues.” Touko smiled, but was still crying.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t mind that.” He sat down right next to her. She was surprised he was so close, but she honestly didn’t mind. The sun had gone down and it was rather chilly for her liking.

“So, what do you plan on doing now?”

“I’m gonna get some food. I had planned on doing that before I… attacked you.” Touko trailed off some. N didn’t want to make her feel worse so he tried to be supportive.

“Hey, at least the way you attacked me was cool. It caught me and Zoroark by surprise.”

“Yeah…” N sighed. He knew it wasn’t helping, reminding her of the cheap attack she had used.

“Come on, let’s go get you something to eat. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know. How about that diner over there?”

“Sure. It isn’t too crowded.” Touko turned to Aurora.

“What’s the plan?”

“I’ll stay in the pokeball. Someone has already seen me today. I wish him to be the only one.”

“Okay.” Aurora returned to its ball and Zoroark requested to take a walk. He wanted to leave the two alone to let it go how it would. They walked into the diner and sat down.

“So. What are you going to get?”

“I don’t know. Something not too spendy.”

“Why?”

“Don’t have the money to be spending. My family is archeologists and pokemon trainers. Me included.”

“You’re into archeology?”

“Yeah. It’s more of a hobby then a career for me. It can get you places, but most archeologists just get forgotten because they aren’t making the big discoveries.”

“Seriously? I just assumed it was a thing that required patience and skill.”

“Skill, patience, and a whole lot of luck.”

“Interesting. I assume being a trainer is going to be your full time profession though?”

“Yeah. Even if you succeed in your goal. If you do, I’ll probably leave Unova. I don’t want to be separated from my friends.”

“Especially the big one. You must use that one to win all sorts of things… Sorry that was mean. I need to stop saying things like that.” Touko was hurt by the accusation that she used Aurora for selfish means.

“Aurora chooses to stay with me. Even if I have to leave Unova, Aurora would probably stay with me. Don’t EVER say that I in any way am enslaving Aurora or any one of my pokemon ever again, Plasma Boy.” Silence reigned for several minutes until a waitress came over and the two ordered their food.

“I-I’m sorry. Sometimes stuff like that just comes out. I didn’t mean it.”

“Of course you did. You think I’m some sort of disease. Just because I’m a trainer, I’m a cruel, unforgiving person that knows nothing of empathy. As far as you’re concerned, the world would be better off if I was dead. Then you would have no resistance toward anything you wanted to do.”

“No! What put these ideas in your head?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve accepted it. I’m not someone who lingers on others hating me for too long. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get started on something. Tell the waitress that I’m sorry for leaving so early.” Touko got up after leaving some money at the table.

“Touko wait!” She walked out of the door. She pulled out her Minccino, and it jumped on her shoulder.

“I take it you saw N?”

“How did you guess?”

“The look of self hatred is very telling. What did he say after you attacked him?”

“After I attacked him? Nothing. When I threatened to kill him, he said stuff.”

“That escalated quickly. So why do you look like that now?’

“I got a reminder that he hates me.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that all I used Aurora for was just to win.”

“But winning isn’t a bad thing is it?”

“It becomes bad when you use others as stepping stones to win. He figures that just because I’m a trainer, I’m one of those ‘victory first, safety later’ kinds of people.”

“So what’s next?”

“We go to the museum. We have things to identify.” When they got there, Touko unlocked the door with the key she had been given by Lenora. When she got inside, Touko locked the door again. She went over to the giant skull, pulling out all of her pokemon. Her team of four walked around a bit, making sure not to touch anything. Aurora and Touko identified all of the objects they had been given. Names, time periods, what they were from. She liked having the opportunity to do something like that. This Museum was an archeologist’s dream, and she loved it. After a while, she ended up with her freshly evolved Dewott in her lap before Aurora called her over.

“Touko, I sense a very powerful presence. One more powerful than Lugia or Ho Oh.”

“What could it possibly be? Ho Oh is the strongest thing you have ever been in the presence of before, and topping that is hard.”

“It doesn’t seem to be a pokemon. At least it is not in a pokemon form.”

“What can you tell me about it?”

“Not much. Just that it is powerful enough that any legendary within miles should be headed here.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“The point is, we need to find it. Should that power fall into team plasma’s hands, or anyone else’s for that matter, they could level Unova.”

“Okay. Can you tell me where it’s coming from?”

“It seems to originate from the skull.” Touko went into the skull, unsure of what she was looking for. When she got out empty handed, she sat down. She got back up and tried to focus on the tangible things of the skull. 

“If I were trying to hide something in a dragon’s skull, where would I hide it? The jaw!” She opened the jaw and noticed something shiny. She picked it up and pulled it out. It was warm to touch and it flared slightly at her touch. She yelped and almost dropped it in fear. She calmed down slightly.

'It's only a stone. It won't do anything. Just give it to Aurora. It'll be okay.' She looked over to her friend.

“Hey Aurora. Got a place to put this? If it’s as powerful as it seems to be, I shouldn’t be the one to hold it.” Touko gave Aurora the stone and they left the museum. Once again locking the door behind them. They got to the hotel and Touko fell asleep, her mind a mess about everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, N learned some stuff in that chapter. First, Touko kicks exceptionally hard. Second, watch what you say to people. Lemons are upcoming! Side note, the longer I write, the harder it becomes to find an individual page for editing. As a result, there might be some grammatical errors or the incorrect use of a word (then and than are a common one) so if you see me consistently screwing up, please tell me. It'll make editing and revision so much easier.


	8. Percieved Hatred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N attempts to clear up the prior night's misunderstanding, and Touko decides to bring them a little further than friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! This is a chapter containing a start of the main drama between the Black/White trio of friends! Well, kind of. You'll see. Enjoy!

“Child of the phoenix.” Aurora shot its head up and growled. It was no longer in the hotel room, rather, it was in a field of flowers.

“Show yourself! Where am I?”

“Calm yourself. You haven’t left where you were when you fell asleep. You are in a dreamscape.”

“Why am I here? I’ve never had a dream like this before. Who are you?!”

“I am the dragon Reshiram. The stone in your possession is a concentration of my energy.”

“What do you want, dragon?”

“I wish to see your trainer. When she touched the stone, it reawakened me. Only one deemed worthy of being a hero can do that. You must come to Dragon Spiral Tower.”

“My trainer doesn’t get along with towers.”

“Or fire. I know this. I sensed her fear when I reawakened and the stone was warm to touch. Unfortunate, but to be a true hero, one must deal with their fears. We will speak again later. In the meantime, tell her what must be done.” Aurora snapped awake, lying once again on the hotel bed. Touko was breathing softly next to Aurora, presumably pleasant dreams going through her head. Zorro and the Minccino stirred.

“What’s the problem Aurora? You look a little shaken.”

“I do not know. I have had the most perplexing vision. Once morning strikes, I will tell you about it. For now, you need sleep.”

“What do you think we’ll do tomorrow?”

“Give the gym leader all the information we have on the artifacts. Touko seems to want the money from it.”

“Why is the money so important?”

“She wants to get things for us. I have a bandana from her that I wear on occasion. I think she wants to give back something for us being willing to stand by her.”

“But why?”

“As someone who is terrified of being abandoned by her friends, I think she finds it comforting that we would have her no matter what.”

“Oh. We should get her something!”

“Good thinking Zorro. Now what to get her, that is the question.”

“How about that weird thing she keeps in her bag?”

“That is… not an appropriate gift. Ever.”

“Why not?”

“It is something humans use. How shall I put it? I assume you know how to procreate, correct?”

“Yeah. But that requires another person. Doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Most pokemon do it simply to reproduce. The majority of the time, humans do it for pleasure. They don’t just use their sexual organs either.”

“But what’s the point of that? Doesn’t it hurt?”

“I imagine so. It is why she was limping yesterday. She seems to enjoy it though. I know not why, but the sensitivity of her body is not something she is careful with. Instead, she uses it to her advantage.”

“But isn’t it very fast? I’ve seen other pokemon do it and it lasted about a minute.”

“Sometimes. Sometimes humans can do it for hours. Sometimes only a few minutes. Can we talk about something else? Perhaps back to the gift topic?”

“Sure! What do you recommend we get her?”

“I do not know. Her parents very rarely got her things, so I don’t even think they knew.”

“Huh. We’ll figure it out later. Good night you two!”

“Goodnight Minccino!” The two small pokemon fell back asleep, leaving Aurora alone to its thoughts.

‘I wonder why that dragon wished for Touko to be there. I did not sense any hostility, and it would be wise to have such an ally. Very well. I will tell Touko later. Perhaps not today, but maybe in a few days.’ Aurora closed its eyes and drifted back to sleep, wishing to rest for a few hours longer.

Touko woke up to her Xtranciever ringing. She reached over and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Touko! It’s Lenora! Come quickly! A bunch of the stuff got stolen!”

“What?”

“We got here this morning and the dragon’s head was missing! We need you down here right now!”

“I’ll be there in a minute!” Touko quickly got dressed, put her shoes on, recalled all of her pokemon, and shot out of the door. She was at the gym a few minutes later, trying to wake herself up before entering. “My god, she was not kidding the robbery stuff. Look at all this glass.” She stepped over the shards, not wanting any to go through her shoes. “Lenora! I’m here!”

“Good! The police wanted to ask you a few questions, would you be willing to answer them?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Not like I’ve got anything to hide.” Touko walked over to the police officer. He looked at her like she was an alien.

“Can I help you?”

“Lenora said you guys had questions. What did you want to know?”

“Touko White I presume? Well for starters, do you have any idea who might do this?”

“Team Plasma maybe. They tried it yesterday.”

“That would make sense, but I’m afraid it doesn’t seem to be true. From what we’ve seen of Plasma, they are always precise. This is beyond precise, but it also is a total mess. The windows were broken from the inside, but there is nothing to suggest anything went through that. All of the doors were still locked, and everything. There was no way they could have gotten in that cleanly.”

“Huh. What about the cameras? There should be backup cameras in case the others are damaged or destroyed. I’m pretty sure they would turn on automatically too.”

“Good thinking. That will help us. Thank you for your time ma’am.” Touko walked over to Lenora. “Did you want the names and stuff now or later?”

“I’ll take them now. Thanks.” Lenora flipped through them. “Running into you was a lucky break, you know that?”

“I don’t know. Either way, it’s too late to go back to bed isn’t it?”

“I guess so. What are you going to do?”

“Go get some coffee. Then probably go back to my room.” Lenora smiled, understanding how tired the girl was.

“Sounds like a plan! Say hi to your pokemon for me, would you?”

“Sure. See ya.” Lenora waved goodbye after handing Touko the money she was owed and ran off to deal with other projects. Touko walked over to the coffee shop and ordered a medium coffee before making her way back up to the hotel room. She got all of her pokemon back out.

“So how’d it go?”

“Zorro, she looks tired. Maybe we should just leave her be.”

“It’s fine Shell. I’ll take a nap and we’ll get going.”

“What time do you want to get up?”

“11.”

“Okay, see you then!” Touko laid down and closed her eyes, falling back asleep very quickly. She awoke again when she heard a knock at 10. She opened her eyes and looked at the stove’s clock.

“Can people just not let me sleep?” Touko got up, rolling to her feet with grace but otherwise looking like she had fought a vacuum cleaner and lost horrendously. She opened the door, looking down as she tried to wake herself up again. “Can I help you?” She looked up to see N and jumped backwards, losing her balance before N caught her.

“I wish to speak to you.” Touko was unsure what he wanted to talk about, but she kept her mental shields up. She shook off N’s grip.

“What, so you can berate me more for being some kind of sickness? I’m too tired for that.”

“Why do you just assume that?” She looked at him with a ‘really?’ expression on her face.

“Why wouldn’t I assume that? You said that to me after my gym battle in Striaton!”

“No, I don’t think I called you a sickness. In fact, I don’t even think I said anything negative about you specifically.”

“Maybe not, but you still insulted me. It would be like if I said ‘everyone in Team Plasma from the leaders to the grunts takes some unsightly pleasure from hurting pokemon.’”

“But that isn’t true!”

“And neither is the whole thing about all trainers being sadistic assholes that work their pokemon to death. Do you see the issue there?”

“I suppose you are right. I didn’t mean all trainers. After all, your pokemon said-”

“I know what they said.”

“Right. Sorry.” The two sat in awkward silence for a moment before Touko turned around and motioned him to follow. He got inside and stood there for a few moments. Touko closed and locked the door.

“So, what did you want to talk about, oh great mighty King.”

“Please don’t call me that. Only members of Plasma call me that.”

“Okay. The question still stands though.”

“I just wanted to clear up that I don’t hate you. I didn’t want you to actually believe in this perceived hatred. For the record, I really like you.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I am perfectly fine with you. You are… strangely calming. You’re even liked by your pokemon. Why wouldn’t I like you?”

“People have never gotten along with me. When I was in school, I never had any friends. I was bullied constantly for nothing. I didn’t have any friends my age until Bianca and Cheren. Yet you, who I could have sworn hated me, want to be friends with me. Why?”

“I don’t know. There seems to be a lot of things.”

“Like?”

“Well, after you saw me at the gym, you ran up to me, excited to ask if I had seen you fight. The energy behind it made me happy. You wanted to go up to me and talk, despite it’s worth mentioning, not knowing the first thing about me. It made me feel like I could actually have a friendship outside of pokemon. It was a nice feeling.” Touko blushed. She hadn’t even thought about it that way. She was excited to talk to N, and not because she wanted to get into his bed. She had connected with him when she realized he was like her. She just wanted to talk to him and be his friend.

“I wanted to be friends when I first met you in Accumula. Realizing there was someone like me was… shocking. I thought I was the only one, so I wanted to connect with the only person I knew that could also speak to them. I guess that was a bit premature of me. And probably pretty stupid to think you would be any different than anyone else that pushed me away. I really am fucking pathetic.”

“I don’t think so. Pathetic people don’t usually vault themselves at people for what they believe in. Besides, wanting companionship isn’t pathetic. I don’t know how you felt, but in Striaton, it felt like we were friends.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t usually feel prideful for someone doing something I don’t believe in. Your battle style was excellent. I was strangely happy that you beat Cilan so easily. After the battle, you ran up to me, excited to see if I liked it. Even if you knew I wasn’t the biggest fan of training. Which again, I loved it.”

“Huh. I guess you’re right. I was very excited to ask you about it. Even more so than Cheren and Bianca. Friends. That sounds nice.”

“Indeed. I wish to build the friendship we were building then. Then I would have a human friend that I know is a great person. By the way, you look really nice in dresses. Especially with the flower in your hair. You should wear it more often.”

“I would, but it got damaged at the party when one of the waitresses carried a little much. It tore at the side and the hips.”

“I see.”

“Actually, now that I think of it, everyone at the party probably got a nice view of my panties.”

“They must have been very happy with that.”

“They were probably unimpressed by what they saw. Especially considering Elesa was apparently there.”

“Elesa?”

“She’s a supermodel. She’s got the body and she shows it. I don’t have the body. At all.”

“Nonsense. I’m sure you look 1000 times better than her.” Touko pulled up a picture on her Xtranciever.

“Nope.” N looked at the model and back at Touko.

“She looks like she got hit by a car. The way she’s standing is so unnatural.”

“Don’t focus on that! Focus on her!”

“I don’t get what you see out of her. She may be cute, but you’re beautiful.”

“Do you think so?”

“Why would I say it if it weren’t true? I’m sure Elesa would jump at an opportunity to have you on stage with her.”

“I don’t know.”

“If she didn’t that would be her loss.” Silence overtook the room, with not even Touko’s pokemon daring to make a sound. Finally she spoke.

“What would you think of me as an intimate partner? Be honest. I want to know.” N considered for a moment.

“With who?”

“You silly! Who else would I be talking about?” N smiled, wondering if she had interest in him like she had interest in her.

“Zoroark has theories about it, which aren’t exactly wrong. At all.” Touko gave a coy smile.

“So you wouldn’t mind if I did this?” She kissed him softly on the lips, getting the confused expression she had hoped for. “Because N, if I’m being honest, I want to be with you. I’m curious about you. If we were friends before I found out about you being the king, maybe we could be something more now…” Aurora nudged the other pokemon away, knowing they needed privacy. Touko’s hand snaked down. She didn’t move her face, and it stayed a few inches away from N’s face.

“I wouldn’t mind that, but what about the rest of Plasma? That would put you in danger.” She unbuttoned his pants.

“I don’t mind. If fate wants us here, together, who are we to refuse? Besides. If we share these feelings, why wouldn’t we act on them? So tell me N, do you want me as much as I want you?” She had been stroking his cock through his boxers, but that wouldn’t have changed the answer.

“Yes. I need you. Every waking moment, you occupy my thoughts.” Touko smiled and kissed him softly, pulling down his boxers.

“Good. Do you want me to continue?”

“Yes. It feels good.” Touko adjusted so she could do it more effectively while still kissing him. They kissed passionately as she slid her hand up and down his member, until she stopped for a second and decided to do something different. She got on her knees, and put his cock in her mouth. N was unsure why she was doing it, but wasn’t about to complain. She kept going until she felt his cum fill her throat. The thick hot liquid coating her throat as it shot out. She took it in for a second, before swallowing any that hadn't already gone down. His member was still rock hard, so she decided she would have some fun. She unzipped her shorts and let them fall to the ground. She wasn’t ready to go the whole way, but she wasn’t going to let N have all the fun. She used one hand to pleasure herself, and her other to pleasure N. When he came again, she stopped and pulled up her shorts.

“That was great! N, your dick is amazing!”

“Thank you. For doing that. Whatever you did was amazing!”

“Shh. People aren’t supposed to know when a couple does that!”

“They aren’t?”

“No! Especially not family or coworkers! So don’t tell anyone about this!” N nodded. Touko got up from the floor, and N pulled his clothes back up.

“Okay. So, are we a couple now?” Touko smiled, obviously happy with the question.

“Yeah, it seems so! We can only hang out when people we know aren’t around though. We don’t want anyone knowing about this.”

“I guess that’s the safest way to go about it. So, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t actually plan beyond my nap. I certainly didn’t plan on giving a blowjob today, so y’know. I also didn’t expect to end up dating someone. Certainly not anyone important.” N smiled back at Touko. He wasn’t sure exactly what dating included, but he was sure that he was fine with it. The two walked out of the hotel room after Touko grabbed her pokemon. They talked in hushed voices as they went through the corridor.

“So where did you learn all of this stuff?”

“The sex stuff? My parents. I didn’t know I was watching them do something naughty until I was much older.”

“What about the kissing part?”

“I have a lesbian friend who taught me when she preasured me into it. If she was anyone else, I would have brought her to court for rape. In the end, I’m glad to have at least some experience, but I didn’t lose my virginity the way I wanted to.”

“Huh. Do you wish to talk about something else?”

“Sure. How about what we’re gonna do all afternoon.” Their voices got louder as they talked about normal, everyday things.

“How about we go to the museum? Zoroark and I decided that I needed a hobby, and archeology was as good a place to start as any.”

“The museum is closed today. There was a robbery.”

“I suppose that was what those noises were last night. What else is there to do around here?”

“To do with archeology? Nothing I know of.”

“Oh.”

“There is some sort of ruin near Nimbasa, so when we get there, we can check it out. Supposedly, there’s stuff buried in there.” Touko stopped for a second. “Actually, why don’t we get to know each other a little better? I mean, we know some stuff about each other, but not as much as I’d like.”

“Okay. Should we go get lunch?”

“In a bit. I may not have eaten much in two days, but I don’t eat at 11. It’s strange, I know. I just don’t like doing it.”

“Not particularly. Besides, I just learned something about you!” Touko laughed, probably the first time he had heard her genuinely laugh in a while. It made him very happy to hear.

“So, are we doing this one thing at a time? Because that sounds inefficient.”

“Eh. One way or another, it works for me. I take it you want me to keep going?” N nodded. He was curious about his new girlfriend. “Well, I’m 17, from Johto, I’ve been a trainer for 7 years, and I like french fries and singing. You?”

“I’m 19. I guess I’m a trainer, though I wish I didn’t have to. I enjoy doing math. I also like talking to pokemon, which I suppose you could parrot back.”

“Yeah. Okay, important question.”

“What is it?”

“Which is better: waffles or pancakes?”

“I have no clue. I don’t think I’ve ever really had either.” Touko looked shocked.

“So what do you eat for breakfast?”

“Umm. Usually eggs and bacon. Why?”

“I can’t remember the last time I had either of those things. I don’t even remember what they taste like!”

“Really? Well, sometime I’m going to make some for you.”

“You will?”

“Yes.” Touko squealed in delight. Eggs were very expensive in Unova, as decent eggs had to be shipped in from Kanto, and her father was allergic so she couldn't eat the there. The two continued along their way, stopping for some food. By the time night had fallen and the two had gotten to their rooms, N had a new Xtranciever, and the two had learned a bit about each other. Touko wanted to be able to talk to him anytime. They said their goodbyes and Touko kissed him one more time. She went up to her room and sat down on the bed, pulling out all of her pokemon.

“See? Violence wasn’t the answer! Apparently falling in love was!” Touko smiled, she found it cute that her Minccino looked at the world so brightly.

“Y’know, I figured out a name for you.” The Minccino did a little dance, swinging her arms around in a circle.

“What is it?!”

“Elpis. She embodies hope in some mythologies.”

“Awesome! I like it!”

“Good. It’s very fitting for you. Although, if I hadn’t punched him, who knows whether or not we would have gotten together so fast? It might have just been an awkward thing for all we know!” Aurora yawned and stretched across the bed.

“Yes, and you’ve already done a minor sexual act with him.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say minor. Maybe something like pole dancing would be minor.”

“Yes, be glad I did not let the others watch. They would be asking questions forever.” Touko blushed. She was so caught up in her emotions she hadn’t even considered the fact that her pokemon didn’t really want to see her giving N any sort of sexual pleasure.

“Yeah, thanks for the save Aurora.”

“You’re welcome. Come tomorrow, we need to head toward the next city however.”

“Why? I want to spend time with N! You may have missed it in your old age, but we’re dating now! I don’t just want to leave!” Aurora sighed. Jokes about its age were something used quite a lot.

“We have much to do. Beyond that, I figured out why the stone is so powerful.” Touko looked interested now.

“How did you find that out?”

“It told me. It is the essence of the ancient dragon Reshiram.”

“But why do we need to hurry anywhere?”

“Reshiram was quite clear in the wish to speak to you, however, I doubt you can speak to it when it is incorporeal. We must revive it.”

“Okay I don’t get why he wants to see me though. Why me specifically?”

“You reawakened him. According to the dragon, only a hero would ever be able to do that.”

“A hero? Like the one from all the books? Also, Reshiram is the fire dragon. I know you want me to face my fears, but isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“All it wishes to do is speak. In any case, if it sees you as worthy, it would be a great ally to have.”

“Good point. Where is it that we are supposed to meet?”

“A place called Dragon Spiral Tower."

"I, uh, don't have any clue where that is."

“You forget that you are talking to a legendary Beast. I have some knowledge of Unova, even if not much. I will carry us there.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you, and that would strain you a little much."

“You give me too little credit Touko. I have run much further than that before. I will be fine.”

“Even carrying all of our stuff?”

“Yes. I am strong enough for that. In any event, the faster we get this done, the more time you can spend with N in Nimbasa.”

“Okay, but the dragon can wait a few extra days. I’d like to spend some time with N here, and I need to spend time with Cheren and Bianca. They will absolutely lose it when they see Elpis for the first time!” Shell chimed up.

“I bet they will! And they’ll probably ask to battle too!” Touko was kind of excited for that, but also beyond terrified. She didn’t want to stomp Bianca, but she also didn’t want her pokemon that literally breathed fire out for long. She decided to try to sound upbeat.

“Yeah! Nothing like beating two of my oldest friends at something they haven’t had nearly as much experience in! Heck ya!” The group enjoyed themselves for a minute, before settling down. Touko and Aurora settled down in one bed, and the other three settled in another. They said goodnight and went to sleep. Touko didn't sleep well that night. She couldn't stop thinking about the Munna. It hurt to think about

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Touko, Touko, Touko. He's only been your friend for a week or two.


	9. The Ones We Thought Were Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko is waken up early again. This time, her 'friends' manage to make her lose it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Hope everyone is doing good! Enjoy the chapter!

When Touko woke up to another phone call, she almost lost it.

“For fuck’s sake! I’m trying to sleep!” She grabbed her Xtranciever off the nightstand and answered. “There had better be a good reason you two are calling me at 8 in the morning. Because I am always asleep at 8, and you two bucketheads know that.”

“There’s the morning Touko we know and love! Say hi Bianca!” Bianca looked like she had just woken up.

“Hi Touko. It’s time to wake up.” She sounded half asleep, just like Touko.

“Cheren, why must you do this to me? I’ve had a long couple of days, and you are really not helping.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know? I haven’t seen anything on the news that you were involved in.”

“Then you haven’t been watching very closely. Two robberies, one pokemon beat to death, two Plasma defeats. I’ve been stuck in every one of those things.”

“Wait, you saw the beat down?” Bianca was wide awake now.

“Bianca, I wasn’t just there. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But I want to know!”

“Fine, if you want to know so fucking badly! I wasn’t just there! I was the one that tried to help the Munna! It was in my arms when it died! When I said I don’t want to fucking talk about it, you said tell me anyway, so now you fucking know! Thanks for helping me start my morning right by reminding me about the blood I had to scrub off my hands when I got here! After all, isn’t that what friends are for? Peer pressure? Competition? Normal fucking conversations are completely illegal here! No, how did you sleep Touko? Nope! Instead I got to be reminded of something horrible! Thanks you two!” Touko sat silently for a second before starting to cry. Touko was very fragile in the mornings. Her two friends just sat there, not really sure what to say. Touko was always pushing Bianca and Cheren to be better and to do better but it always ended up feeling like they would end up shoving her to the ground instead. Sometimes they literally did. They were very mean to her on occasion. She rarely took it out on them, but now was different. Her pokemon began to stir at the noise she was making. “No, no, no. Go back to sleep, you guys. I’m sorry for waking you. I’ll go outside to continue the conversation. She grabbed her Xtranciever and ran out of the door, still in her pajamas.

“Touko, I’m so so-”  
  


“I don’t want to hear sorry anymore! I just want to be able to enjoy my time, whether it be with you two or by myself, without thinking of horrible stuff! Without thinking ‘hey, in the next 5 minutes Cheren is going to ask for a battle that he has no chance of winning because he spends so much time worrying about his strength, he forgot to actually care about his pokemon and so he is not and will never be anything close to strong’ or how about ‘I wonder what horrible and awkward memory will Bianca bring up next? Will it be the one where you lost your virginity because you couldn’t just stand your ground, or will it be about one of the dozens of horrible, hateful things she hears that no one else ever does?’ or ‘why not both?’ Or maybe you guys are gonna make fun of my drawing, or maybe my singing! Who knows, maybe you guys will even hurt me physically some more! You guys never seem to stop and consider that I have feelings! You don’t think that for once in my life, I want to work toward my own goals and aspirations! That I want to become better at archeology, or that I want to work towards getting the confidence to be a model! Nope, It’s just you two! I define third wheeling! I’m tired of it!” The two sat there as Touko began weeping again. She was unsure what she wanted to hear, but it wasn’t sorry. She was tired of people saying that to her. At some point, people saying sorry was mostly meaningless. They weren’t sorry. It only means something if you fix it. No one ever did.

“I uh, don’t know what to say. We’ll be there in a few days. Until then, call your mom. It seems talking like this isn’t going to help solve any issues we currently have as friends. Maybe she can help.” Cheren and Bianca waved goodbye and hung up, leaving Touko alone. She got up, moved back to her room, and laid closer to Aurora. The pokemon was fast asleep, but she decided to hug her large soft friend. She fell asleep like that, letting herself drift away.

Aurora was still very unsure of this dreamscape. It decided it was kind of peaceful when it once again awoke in it, but still terrifying.

“Reshiram!”

“I am here. You remind me of your creator.”

“Ho Oh?”

“Yes. Strong. Protective. Proud. You take oh so much from my old friend.”

“Old friend?”

“Yes. Long ago, the hero who shaped Unova met the phoenix. We battled fiercely for days, but I was victorious. It was a struggle to the death, but I chose to spare him. How is he?”

“This I do not know. After creating us three many years ago, he has disappeared. It seems he wishes to stay out of the spotlight.”

“I see.”

“You have answers. I want them.”

“Go ahead.”

“What is it you want Touko for exactly? Just to revive you?”

“Goodness no. I was to be reawakened by a hero when Unova was once more threatened. I made a promise to the one who I called master. Now I will fulfill that promise.”

“Hmm. Why do you seem not to care for your hero’s well being?”

“Pardon?”

“She is deathly afraid of fire. She panics at the sight of it. Mix it with alcohol, and you’ve gotten her to the point where the mere mention of fire or lightning sends her into shock. Depressants. Sure.”

“I see. Why is she afraid of them exactly?”

“An accident. When we first met, us three legendary beasts were revisiting our birthplace. I’m sure you can figure out the rest. It is called the burned tower after all. Even knowing this, are you sure she is one you wish to be under the command of?”

“I am certain. Fear, however great, is something that can be offset by care and compassion. The first hero feared many things. Heights being one of them. As we do not fly five feet above the ground, he would often walk to his destinations.”

“We?”

“There are three dragons. Me, Zekrom, and Kyurem. Kyurem is the only of us still alive.”

“Interesting. So if Touko goes to you and you deem her worthy, you will join her?”

“I have already deemed her worthy. When will you arrive?”

“In about a month. Maybe two. We have much to do, but we will head straight there when we reach Nimbasa.”

“I await it. Shall you need to talk, just call out. I will answer.” Aurora snapped awake. It was almost 11 and it felt like Touko was hugging its chest.

“Touko. Are you awake?” 

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Cheren and Bianca.”

“What exactly happened?”

“They never stop pressuring me. It’s always about them. I can’t remember the last time they stopped and asked how I was on a regular day. Only after something has happened.”

“I think you’d better call your mother. I can do very little to help with this.”

“I know. I just don’t get what the hell’s up with me. My friends are assholes to me, my first boyfriend has to keep our relationship a secret, and the only person I could ask about this that wouldn’t be biased would be Red, and to talk to him I have to send him letters! Can I just not lead a normal life for like, one day?”

“Normalcy. What would you describe that as exactly? Like an everyday person? Then no. Normal people can’t do the things you do. They can’t speak to pokemon, they don’t understand fear, they are usually so worried about themselves that they neglect those that matter to them. Normal isn’t necessarily good.”

“That isn’t what I meant. Normal people don’t live in constant fear that people will find out about them. They don’t worry about their friends leaving them or about randomly getting struck by lightning.”

“Yes well, in the end, they have their own fears. Yours were brought out of you. Theirs were not. If by normal you mean hiding behind a false sense of bravery, then those people are normal. Fear is normal. Maybe yours is extreme, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy life. Even if you have to hide your relationship with N, why should it matter? When you’re spending time with him, you should enjoy it. If you need to hide me, so be it. I will still always be there for you. Even if you can’t be normal, why would you want to be? “

“I guess you’re right. Is everyone else up?”

“Yes. Elpis, Zorro, and Shell seem to be playing tag. “ There was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“N.”

“Come in!”

“The door is locked.” She got up, still in her pajamas. “Good morning. Still in your sleepwear?”

“Yeah. It’s been a long morning so far.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Okay. I will not ask about it then. Did you have plans today?” She was very grateful for that.

“Not really. If I did, I forgot ‘em. You?”

“I was going to ask you to accompany me to the gym. I figured it would give us something to do today.”

“Sure! I’d love to see you fight!”

“I’m not the one fighting though.”

“I know. That’s how I put it though, since the trainer has to take charge of the battle for it to go well. Well, maybe not for everyone.”

“Especially not you. You give orders through undiscovered means that significantly change the turnout.” Touko giggled a little. 

“Still haven’t forgiven me for that? And I thought I held grudges!”

“What? What grudge? Forgiven you for what?” Touko laughed, enjoying his confused expressions.

“I’m kidding. When do you want to go?”

“Whenever you want to.”

“Okay, let me get dressed real quick.” She grabbed clothes and got out of her pajamas. She figured it didn’t matter if he saw her fully nude. They were in a relationship after all. She had already done things with him, and figured the rest would come soon enough, so why bother hiding anything?

“You’re very uh, open with your body.”

“Yeah well, I figure I might as well be.” She walked up to him, her breasts pressing up against him. “After all, I assume you want more than blowjobs for the rest of your life.” A bulge started to appear in his pants. She grabbed the back of his neck and the two kissed passionately. The two started to go at it harder, tongues in each other’s mouths. When they stopped, she pulled away, looking embarrassed.“I shouldn’t have done that. I know you probably want to go the whole way, but I don’t think I’m ready just yet.” N nodded.

“Take your time. It seems wrong to force you forward. Especially wrong given that we’ve been dating only a short time.”

“Thanks N.” 

‘Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why would you do that to him? He obviously wants to, so why did I dangle it in front of him before I was ready? I’m not even close to ready! Why am I the dumbest person I know?’ She grabbed her clothing and got dressed. She kind of wanted to get the sexual tension out of her head, so she grabbed N’s hand and walked out of the door with her pokemon. “So, what do you want to talk about?”

“How about we do more get to know you stuff? I know it seems dumb, but since we’re dating…” N trailed off.

‘What the hell were you thinking? Yes, ask her like a weirdo. See where that gets you.’ N looked rather irritated.

“Sorry, that’s something I do sometimes. I don’t really converse like a normal person.” Touko smiled.

“I personally didn’t think it was that bad. It seems like a valid request. What do you want to know?”

“How about what kinds of things I should avoid planning for our dates? That seems important to know.” Touko figured it would come up eventually. She didn’t think it would be so soon, but eventually.

“Promise you won’t make fun of me for it?”

“Why would I do that? That seems like a strange thing to want to do.”

“I… am sort of sensitive when it comes to it.”

“I promise.”

“I’m terrified of fire and lightning. They cause issues for me. In the right conditions, they can put me in the hospital for days.”

“I guess that makes sense. Trauma?”

“When I was little, I got stuck in a tower that was getting struck by lightning constantly. I thought I was going to get hit by it. When the fire started, I got burned really badly, so I’m terrified of both.”

“So yes, trauma. I take it you don’t like storms either?”

“Rain is fine. Thunder and lightning are the issue.”

“I see. How about heights?”

“Heights?”

“Yes. As in long falls.”

“I’m fine with them. I’ve always loved flying.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve even taken a little piloting class.”

“For what?”

“Helicopters and small planes. They’re easy to rent, so that’s what my parents went with.”

“So you can actually fly a helicopter? What can’t you do?”

“Dance. I also couldn’t ever get far in most martial arts. Only the one I used on you. I also can’t lift much, and I really suck at making friends.”

“Still, an impressive resume. Martial arts, piloting, archeologist, pokemon trainer, and what else?”

“I’m a lab assistant, occasionally a lab rat, I have medical training, mom says I draw really well, and I’m an advanced duelist.”

“Duelist?”

“Swords. I used to do it competitively, but only for fun recently. My mom asked something about that the other day.”

“Do you train with actual swords?”

“On occasion. Most people don’t though. Competitive stuff doesn’t use metal blades.”

“So what do they use?”

“Usually a blade made of something like bamboo. It simulates the feeling of being slashed across the face very well I’m told.” N looked slightly horrified. He thought it was supposed to be fun, not painful.

“Why do you do it? That must hurt an awful lot.” Touko smiled.

“It does. The point is to not get hit. The worst I’ve ever seen that do was break someone’s rib. Falling badly from a chair could snap your neck, so it could be worse!”

“Interesting. Do you have any drawing I could see?”

“If you want to. They really aren’t good though.” She pulled out a notepad from her bag and handed it to him. He flipped through the pages.

“Can I guess your favorite flower?”

“Sure. Try to guess.”

“Roses. Red roses.” Touko went through it for a second. He was right of course, but she didn’t know how he figured it out.

“How did you know?”

“You have drawn quite a few.”

“How did you even know they were roses? They look horrid! They could just as easily be lilies!”

“I disagree. They look quite beautiful. Why must you put yourself down so?” Touko looked down. When she was in school, she was bullied for everything. She never did anything to anyone but no one cared. They still bullied her. For drawing, for not drawing as well as everyone else, for the burn marks on her legs, for her hair color, for the way she would sometimes lose focus. She had taken some of it to heart. None of it was true, but she refused to believe that at least some of it wasn’t. She took all feedback, even feedback meant to bring her down.

“I know tons of people that say my stuff is horrible. Even Cheren and Bianca would attack me on the regular for it at school.”

“You need to have some confidence. For instance, I’m sure you have an excellent singing voice.”

“Nope. People say that sucks too. Really, I’m just not good at stuff. Every time I try something, I very quickly find someone who has done everything I’ve ever done better.” N’s blood was boiling. He was sure that she was more skilled than those people, but she believed she was inferior.

“You said Cheren and Bianca were part of this?”

“Yeah. They taunted me all the time for years. They still do all the time. Just usually through text. In public, they are very nice to me.”

“I’m not sure, but that sounds a lot like what father describes as how many trainers treat their pokemon. Abusive relationships I believe he called them. Why are you friends with these two exactly?”

“They’re the only ones willing to be friends with me. The entirety of Nuvema’s and Accumula’s kids can’t stand me. The only time I’m ever treated as an equal is when I’m standing up for Bianca. Her family downs her a lot, so I stand for her. It makes me feel like a better person.”

“You say that like you’re somehow a bad person.”

“I kind of am. I spend all of my time being selfish and lying so no one finds out about Aurora, or the fear thing, or the tower, or my gift.”

“It is called privacy. Something that as I understand, is valued a great deal in life. Besides, a lie that doesn’t hurt anyone or what seems like years of taunting, peer pressure, and ultra competitiveness does not make one think of good people. After all, friends are supposed to trust and support one another. You support and trust them, but it doesn’t seem to go the other way all the time. Sometimes they seem to be with you, and other times they are against you.” Touko pulled out Zorro and asked him to let her carry him. It seemed like a strange choice, but he wasn’t about to question. Touko had a pained expression on her face.

“What am I supposed to do? Just be like ‘hey guys, I’d like to be treated like a human being’ I did that earlier today. It isn’t going to change anything.” N paused for a second. He considered everything.  
  


“Touko, what do they think of you beyond friendship?”

“N, I’m not doing anything with them! I’m not cheating!”

“Calm down. Just answer the question.”

“I guess they both have a crush on me… I don’t know why.”

“Why they have taken a liking to you is understandable in every way.”

“But why are they so mean then? That doesn’t add up.”

“Well, I have a theory about it. So you know how in the wild pokemon show dominance to those they wish to mate with? Well perhaps it is similar. They think if they bring you down, you’ll think you’re lucky to be dating them. To a degree it has worked.”

“What?! No! I was forced into having sex with Bianca because she wouldn’t let me leave until I agreed! I’ve always told Cheren off when he made approaches though!”

“Yes, but they hurt you, and because something in your brain says that they are your friends, you stay with them. It may never get to the point where you are willing to sleep with them. But they will continue to try as long as you let it continue.” Touko thought about it for a second, holding Zorro tightly. N and Zorro were both swimming with hatred. They both hated Cheren and Bianca with this new information in tow. They knew about Bianca, but they didn’t know how bad it was.

“Okay. After today, can we leave this city? I don’t want to be near them right now.”

“Yes. We will leave at dawn. For now, let us enjoy the day. The hour is still young.” They walked into the Nacrene city gym. Lenora was sitting by the exhibits.

“Touko! What brings you here today?”

“Oh, I was wondering if my friend here could challenge the gym. We wanted to leave in the morning and he needed this badge.”

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be okay. After all, we do really need to get something moving again. Come on sir. Sorry Touko, but you have to stay out here. Privacy in battle is something I very much like. Touko nodded, her hat covering her eyes from view. She pulled out Shell and Elpis so she could talk to someone she knew well.

“Hey guys.”

“Are you okay Touko?”

“Yeah.”

“No. No she isn’t. She’s using her hat to cover up her crying.” Shell walked up.

“Why are you crying, Touko?” She sighed.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. When N gets done, what do you guys want for lunch?”

“What do you want?”

“I asked first.”

“Well there are more of us and we have decided that you will not only ask first, but you will answer first too! The joys of life!”

“Geez Elpis, going hard and fast! I guess I want something spicy. Maybe that will take my mind off of stuff.”

“Then we’ll get some spicy food!”

“Shell, you hate spicy food.”

“Touko, right now I’ve decided to really like spicy food. Spicy food is great food for the moment.”

“And why is that?”

“I want to suffer? I guess?”

“Is it because I want it?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.” Elpis jumped up Touko’s shoulder.

“I’ve never had spicy food, so I’m excited! What is spicy?”

“It’s like intentionally burning your tongue. Aurora is fine with it, Zorro and Touko like it.”

“What about you Shell?”

“For the moment, I have decided that I really like it. In general, I don’t enjoy torturing myself.” Elpis nodded her head. She then flipped over Touko’s hat, hanging her head very close to Touko’s face.

“Boo!” Touko laughed a little. Her pokemon liked her laughter, and she was probably the only one who would ever exist that had such a great laugh. They spent the next 15 minutes talking to Touko, trying to make her laugh. They did a pretty good job too, and by the time N got out of the battling chambers, he was surprised to see her back to her usual self.

“Hey N, how did the battle go?”

“It took five minutes. The rest was just talking.”

“Huh. Did you win?”

“Yes. Lenora said to give you this. She said that she didn’t feel like she had given enough before.” He handed her some money. “Where do you want to go for lunch?”

“There’s a place with spicy food. I want to go there. You?”

“I have never been to a spicy restaurant before. I very rarely eat spicy food in general. Shall we get going?” He helped her off the floor and the two made their way to the restaurant. Touko ordered very hot buffalo wings, dubbed ‘hellfire’ wings for her and Zorro. She got N, Shell, and Elpis much more tame wings. When Touko got up to get the food, she could smell the buffalo sauce from her food. She grabbed the food and sat down.

“Here you guys go. Some mild wings for you three and their hottest wings for us two.” The group ate, Touko and Zorro took theirs like champs. N ate slowly but by the end his mouth was burning. He liked it though. It wasn’t an unpleasant burn, and the wings tasted good.

“Those were rather warm. How are yours?”

“Very good. Spicy as I expected? Not really. Still good though.”

“Do you mind if I try?”

“That might not be a great idea.”

“Why?”

“N, if I kissed you right now, it would be like me lighting a cigarette and shoving it in your mouth. You do NOT want to have this sauce.”

“I think I still might want to try it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Okay, but you are really not going to enjoy it.” She handed him one of her wings. He took a bite out of it, noting it tasted smokier than his. He sat for a second before feeling it. Touko got up and bought a thing of milk. She handed it to N. “I’d rather you actually be able to kiss me later. Here.” He chugged it and the pain lessened.

“How do you eat those things? It is like swallowing acid!”

“Yep! They taste good!”

“Not as hot as you expected? What were you expecting? A stick of white phosphorus?”

“Maybe. Never tried to eat one of those. Anyway, it seems you weren’t disappointed by the ‘Hellfire’ name huh?”

“You could say that!” Touko giggled again. N wasn’t expecting them to be THAT hot. Boy was he wrong. She paid for their meal and left. It was about 1, so they decided to go to the store. Touko didn’t need anything, but N needed some milk. He paid for it and some plastic cups. 

“Do you want some milk? It’ll help with the sensation!” She smiled at him.

“No thanks N. I like the burning feeling.” He poured milk for Elpis and Shell, who really needed it. Zorro walked up to Elpis, who was drinking the milk very fast.

“I take it you didn’t like it.”

“Very funny Zorro. I liked them, but I’m apparently not good with spicy things.”

“Touko’s mom apparently loves spicy food even more than she does. None of us except Aurora have ever met her mother in person though, so who knows.” The two went back and forth, playful banter between the two. They made their way back to the hotel where they ended up at Touko’s room again.

“You should check out of your room and come up here for the night.” N was surprised by the sudden request.

“But what of your pokemon? There are only two beds.”

“Aurora said that if I needed to use the whole bed, I could use the whole bed. You’ll just sleep next to me!”

“That bed is incredibly small. How does your Suicune even fit on that with you?”

“I give Aurora most of the space. I don’t need much.” She pulled Aurora out of the pokeball. “Hey would you mind sleeping on the floor? N is staying up here tonight.”

“Of course. What of his Zoroark?”

“Good question. Where is he going to sleep?”

“He could sleep wherever. He isn’t picky.” He pulled his Zoroark out. “I’m going to go sign out. Figure out a place to sleep.”

“Okay. Hey Touko! Long time, no see! Still vaulting at people?”

“Nope! Where do you want to sleep?”

“I’ll sleep on the floor. If Suicune won’t rip me in half like a large teddy bear.”

“You child, are not a large teddy bear. Closer to a medium teddy bear. Besides that, I have a strange liking of teddy bears. I would not harm one to save my life.”

“Interesting. I have no other words to describe that. Giant pokemon that could bite me in half like a candy bar, and it talks about liking teddy bears.” Zoroark looked over to Touko’s other pokemon. “Hello you three.”

“Hello bigger me!”

“Wait, you know this guy?”

“Nope! That’s what I’ll evolve into at some point though!”

“What’ll I evolve into?”

“A Cinccino. When exposed to a shiny stone, you’ll turn into your next form. Your Dewott friend over there will eventually evolve once more into a Samurott.” Cinccino ran up to Touko.

“Do we have a shiny stone?!”

“Yeah. I picked it up the other day.”

“I wonder how that Munna is doing.” Touko visibly flinched at that. The memory was still painful, but she couldn’t tell them. Zoroark figured that out when he saw her flinch. Shell spoke up.

“Touko?”

“I’m fine.”

“What happened?” Zoroark decided to get the attention off of Touko.

“Muscle spasms. It happens when some people get tired. Maybe we should let her rest.” Touko waited until no one was looking and mouthed thank you at Zoroark. He nodded and laid down. When N got in the room, he walked over to Touko and sat down next to her. The two kissed and Touko went and got water. When she got back in the main room, she received a call. It was Bianca. She motioned for everyone to hide and answered.

“Hey Bel, what do you need?”

“We had a question. What exactly are your plans moving forward?”

“I don’t know. I might roam for a bit.”

“You should come down to Striaton and come to the banquet!”

“I am not walking 12 hours for that.”

“But Touko!”

“No. Not happening. I need to rest. I’ll call later. Bye.” She hung up and threw herself on the bed. She wasn’t even able to think straight anymore.

“Perhaps you need sleep. We’ll go to bed now and get ready in the morning.” Touko nodded. She got under the covers and fell asleep. It was about 2, but she knew she could sleep a while. For once in her life, she felt safe. She didn't know why. She was still very unsure of N, but she felt strangely content around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! This is a turning point for Touko. Where she starts to realize what friends really are. I thought it would be fun to write about, and I was right!


	10. Goals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N learns some about Touko's peculiar ways and Touko's mother decides she's done waiting for Touko to stop constantly forgiving her 'friends.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caffeine! Caffeine! Caffeine! Keeping me functioning well enough at three in the morning to write this! Woo! Is this chapter shorter? I think so. It's like 5000 characters shorter, so who knows. In any event, enjoy!

N sat as Touko slept. He wasn’t overly tired, so he just laid there, staring at her. She was cute when she slept. She was breathing softly, her chest rising and falling slightly with every breath. Suddenly, her breathing got faster and harder, and the pleasant expression melted away to one of pure terror. She started murmuring in her sleep, and N was unsure of what to do. He grabbed Touko’s hand and she seemed to calm down some. Her breathing was still a little heavy, but she didn’t look as scared as she did before. N watched her for a few minutes before closing his eyes and drifting to sleep.

“Interesting. Don’t you agree, Suicune?” The legendary looked up at the Zoroark.

“What pray tell, do you find so interesting?”

“A commoner girl with the King of Team Plasma. They both seem happy about it.” The legendary put its head back down and closed its eyes.

“Press her, and you will find her anything but common. Hurt her, and I will find Plasma’s most populated base, and rip apart the men, women, and children that reside there. Your last memories of them will be of their screams, burned into your memory until the day your pathetic, meaningless life comes to an end.” Zoroark was shocked by that. He was sure that Suicune meant it, and could do it easily. He didn’t mean to sound threatening to her in any way.

“I don’t plan on hurting her in any way. It is a delight to see her with N. It makes him cheerful. That and it makes him spend less time on the whole pokemon liberation crap. His father has tried to make him into a monster, and now he has another person to counter that.”

“I take it you don’t like his ‘ideal’ do you?”

“Nope. I obviously don’t want to see trainers hurt their pokemon, but separating the ones that love their pokemon from each other is wrong.”

“Have you explained this to him?”

“I haven’t ever been able to get a word in about it. I was hoping Touko could show him how wrong he is. She might have even started already.” Aurora ran it through every mental check it could think to.

“So, how do we push him to do the right thing?”

“We find a way to get Touko to show him that there are great things going on in the world of pokemon trainers. Ideas?”

“There is much in Nimbasa we could show him. Musicals are one thing that Touko’s mother frequents. Touko herself has always wanted to participate, but has never been able to.”

“So that’s one thing. Anything else?”

“Yeah. They have a rescue center he would probably be interested in. They help pokemon trainers and the like with shots and whatnot to help with disease. In addition, the science lab there would be of significant interest to him. If we are to do this, we need a plan.”

“What do you mean?”

“Specifically an end goal. If we are to complete our new task, we must narrow our focus to one thing. I propose we focus on convincing N that trainers are working toward the benefit of pokemon, to the pokemon’s goals. We have much to use in this. Science, math, and hard proof.”

“You my friend, are a genius.”

“Intelligence will get us further than brawn in this. Actually, I know of something we can do. There is a polluted water source. Grimer and Muk started appearing there. Many trainers spend much time there, helping their pokemon clean the water to prevent the pokemon there from dying. We will use it to prove to N that not all trainers are evil.”

“Excellent thinking. Where is this?”

“On the way to Castelia.” Touko woke up, with a cough.

“We will talk more later. For now, feign ignorance.” Aurora nodded. It was still dark, but Touko was awake.

“Touko?”

“Nightmares again?”

“Yeah. This one wasn’t as bad though. There was something almost comforting about it. Like there was someone there, keeping all the bad stuff away.” She looked down at her hand and saw N’s hand wrapped around it. “Huh. I wonder why he did that. What time is it? Can I go back to bed?”

“Yes. It is still early. You have alarms set. Go back to sleep.” Aurora laid its head down and went to sleep, knowing they had a long day ahead of them.

N woke up with the alarm and noticed that his hand kind of hurt. He looked down and saw that Touko had gripped his hand.

“She must have a grip of steel. Ouch.” He shook her awake, not really sure if letting go of her hand was a good idea. Or if it was even possible. “Good morning Touko!” She opened her eyes, the blue in them reflecting the early morning light that shimmered in through the sliding door.

“Good morning N. How did you sleep?”

“Good. You?”

“I had some issues, but other than that pretty good.” N nodded. Touko released his hand. “Sorry if that hurt. When I woke up earlier, you were holding my hand, and I guess I just gripped a little hard.”

“It is fine. Come. It looks as if all our stuff is ready to go.” They got dressed and signed out of the hotel. Touko wanted to get out of the city as early as possible. There was no way of knowing where Cheren and Bianca were, and she didn’t want to chance it. It was about noon when Zoroark stopped them.

“We’re stopping for a while. Come on.” The two trainers looked confused but went with it. They went down a hill and saw several people working around a river. Touko pulled out Aurora, unsure if they were friendly.

“Hey you two! Mind giving us a hand? Us trainers gotta work together!” N stopped, slightly offended.

“I’m not a trainer!”

“Well, you are now! Us and our pokemon are trying to clean this river out! Buncha Grimer moved in, now we’ve gotta do something before more pokemon get hurt!” N looked confused. Why did they care about these wild pokemon? What were they doing exactly?

“We’ll help! My boyfriend and I are always willing to help if it means helping some pokemon!”

“That’s the spirit! Now c’mere you two!” They walked over and noticed how murky the water was. “Now, we got all the garbage out, but we need to figure out a way to clear this gunk out! Magikarp can swim in it, but nothing else can! We’ve been here for weeks, so if you got any ideas, throw ‘em my way! If you need any water, we got free bottles. Long as you don’t throw ‘em away in the river!”

“Aurora! Come here please!” The pokemon walked out, looking at the murky water. “We’re gonna help this gentleman and his friends clean this river. Swim up to the source and see what you can do from there. Maybe we can purify that and make this take less time. Be fast about it. The more time we take, the more time the water has to poison pokemon downstream.” Aurora nodded and jumped into the water. The legendary’s touch purified the water several feet around it. Everyone looked on in amazement as a large section cleared up.

“If we are to clear this area, I recommend putting gloves on and getting people on the edges and the middle. Use rakes to clear the sludge and move away from the mouth. Aurora can handle that, so we don’t need to worry.”

“You two are amazing! Well, let’s get to work!” The group got moving, pulling tons of sludge and muck from the water. When they reached the point that they had blocked to prevent more contamination, they pulled out of the water and grouped up back at the truck these guys were using. Aurora sat, waiting. “I’ll be damned! The river is clear again! Wedge, put all the pokemon we pulled out for cleaning back!” He turned toward N and Touko. “It took about a thousand trainers and weeks of hard work, but because of you two, the river is clear again!”

“Wait, thousands of trainers helped with this?”

“Hell yeah my green haired friend! Everyone pitched in a little! Everyone’s pokemon stayed to the side though, because no one wanted their pokemon to get sick! A beautiful thing!”

“I wasn’t aware so many cared that much about pokemon.”

“This is an official organization we’re setting up! We’ve had donations from probably three million different people that want to help! We’re setting up our headquarters in Nimbasa, so you two had better come on over! Come over to the ‘Seventh Heaven Bar and Grill’ when you drop by, we’ll get you something good to eat!” N was amazed. These people. Despite being trainers, they genuinely seemed to love their pokemon. The pokemon seemed to love them right back, as the group played with their pokemon. The two said their goodbyes and kept moving.

“I wasn’t aware that so many people would be willing to go clean up a polluted habitat just because of the pokemon there. Certainly not most trainers.”

“I’m sure that the vast majority of us would help in some way if we were able to. Not all trainers are satanists y’know.”

“I know. Why is it that you make me question my ideals so often?” Touko grinned.

“Another bad quality of mine.”

“I wouldn’t say that. Maybe you just bring out the best in people. I’d say that is a great quality. If all trainers were like that, my ideal wouldn’t be needed so much!” Zoroark smiled. This part of the plan had worked flawlessly. Aurora was in its ball, but the two wouldn’t be able to talk now anyways. It was not easy to keep these things a secret when both of the people they were keeping the secret from could hear every word they said.

‘I wonder if her other pokemon would do well in this.’ 

“So Touko, what are you gonna do once we reach Nimbasa?”

“Nimbasa? Zoroark, that’s quite a ways out!”

“Yes, we must deal with Castelia first, but I was just curious.”

“Well, the gym isn’t open until April, and it’s almost September. I think Aurora wanted to go somewhere with me. Not really giving many details though.”

“Interesting. Well, I should think that you two are going to spend a great deal of time together.”

“Uh, why wouldn’t we? Even if we aren’t together, we can still see each other using the Xtranciever.”

“I suppose it’s been only a few days, but I didn’t know N had one. When did you get one?”

“The day we started dating. I’m sure it will be useful, especially considering Touko’s trip with Aurora is going to take a few days.”

“What are you going to be doing when I’m gone? Working on math till you die of boredom?”

“He takes some unknown pleasure from solving math equations. I don’t understand, but hey. Some people are different. Unique if you will.”

“Well, he certainly is unique! I’ll give you that!” He wrapped his arm around her.

“Well, I am not the only unique one then! At least I have some company!” Elpis popped down from Touko’s hat.

“It seems as though Touko is blushing! What’s next? Find out on the next chapter of Touko White and her quest with her hero N!”

“Elpis!”

“What? I got told what he did. He saved you from that old dude, come on, don’t be shy about it! Tell us all how you felt when your prince swept you off of your feet for the first time! I bet you were smitten at first sight!”

“Geez, you don’t need to call me out like that.”

“Be louder! I’m sure N would love to hear your first thoughts when you saw him!”

“I’m sure I already know the answer. She wasn’t thinking romantically when that happened. She looked grateful, but not like she was thinking like a romanticist. Wow you really are red. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a little embarrassed. When did you become such a romanticist Elpis?”

“About 30 seconds ago. I decided it would be fun to joke about it a little! I was right too!” All four of them laughed a little, light hearted and sort of awkward. As they continued, Touko decided to call her mother. She wanted N to meet her, but N decided that wasn’t a good idea. He wasn’t sure of what her reaction would be to it. To be fair, Touko wasn’t either but she wanted to try anyway. She was kind of annoyed that she couldn’t just date whoever she wanted without being judged. At least with N, there was a method to the madness. A reason he was so weird. With other people, they dated the weird, unsettling guys that had no reason to care about what they ranted about. Her mom picked up and she appeared on screen.

“Hey Touko! How are you doing?”

“Pretty good! I can’t complain, that’s for sure!”

“Good! What have you been up to? Slashing through the competition?”

“I try not to do that. It would hurt the pokemon I battle if I went all out.”

“I see. Well, it’s been years since I was a professional trainer, but being kind is the best way to go. You aren’t trying to rip them apart, but just beat them.” N looked surprised by her words.

“At least someone gets it. Sorry. I need to keep my cool.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to lose it with you.”

“It’s fine honey. You look like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Yeah. Have you been watching the news recently? Actually just a second. Elpis, can you go into the ball for a second?”

“Sure.” The pokemon jumped down onto Touko’s arm and flipped over it, hitting the recall button on the pokeball that was on Touko’s belt.

“Okay. Did you hear about the Munna that got beaten down? I was the one that was there. I got to see that Munna die, but Cheren and Bianca didn’t care that I didn’t want to talk about it. Before that, I beat Cheren in a battle and he basically called me stupid. I get he doesn’t know about how much I know, but it still hurts. He just shut me down like he always does.”

“I don’t understand that boy. How does Bianca fit into all of this?”

“Other than the whole Munna thing, she still constantly makes fun of me. I’m tired of being the only one who gets this treatment. I don’t know what the hell I did, but oh well.” Ms White’s face warped. Years of anger burst forward, and Touko flinched.

“Not oh well! I’m done standing by and watching them tear my daughter apart! For years, I’ve stood by because you said they were your ‘friends’ but how good of friends can they really be? All they ever do is make you feel bad about yourself! I won’t stand for it!”

“Nothing is gonna make them stop. They won’t ever stop.”

“They will. Where are they?”

“Nacrene City. They are probably gonna challenge the gym there when it opens in a day or two.”

“Good. Don’t talk to them. At all. We’ll sort this out. Stay safe. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Her mother hung up. Touko sighed.

“Your mother is very angry. Why is she angry at you?”

“She’s not angry at me. She’s angry at Cheren and Bianca.”

“Reasonable. Come on. If we get to Castelia by nightfall, it’ll make the shopping tomorrow less horrid.”

“Shopping? But I don’t need anything. I thought you said you didn’t either.”

“I don’t. I still need to go shopping however. I’ll probably do it while you challenge the gym.”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s something for Zoroark.”

“Huh. Speaking of presents, when is your birthday?”

“January 4th. Yours?”

“February 19th. What kind of stuff do you like?”

“What do you mean?”

“On people’s birthdays, other people that are close to them bring them stuff. Aptly named birthday presents.”

“I guess I like things like puzzles. What do you want for your birthday?”

“I uh, don’t know.”

“That sounded strange. Are you hiding something?”

“N-no! Why would I hide anything like that?”

“Because you are ashamed of it. That or you think you should be. Don’t worry, I have no problem with whatever it is.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s stupid.”

“Well, I doubt that. Just tell me.” He gave her puppy eyes and her shield just kind of dropped.

“I’ve always really liked dresses. No one likes when I wear the though-.” N held up his finger, causing her to fall silent.

“I do not care what other people think. If they cannot appreciate you for what you are, whether you’re in a dress or in normal clothes, they are missing out. You look good in dresses. I should know, I’ve seen you wear one.” His tone wasn’t harsh, but it was very serious and it did have a slight edge. She walked silently for quite some time.

‘Is he just saying that because he feels like he needs to? Everyone who’s ever said anything about the dresses said I looked bad in them. What did he say about it when we weren’t dating? I can’t remember. Was it good? Was it bad? Why can’t I remember what he said? Did he say something about it at all? Why can’t I get this one little thing? It’s not like it’s hard, it’s just one sentence. Come on Touko, you can do it. Focus.’ She went through it over and over, trying to piece it together. ‘Was it something about class? Did he say I lacked class, or was it that other people lacked class? Why is this so hard for me? All I can think about is snide remarks!’ N noticed her facial expression.

“Touko?”

“Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why can’t I remember this one thing? One sentence, and I can’t remember it!”

“Whoa. Calm down. What are you trying to remember?”

“What you said to me before I went to the party. We were talking about fancy clothes, but I can’t remember anything else! What the hell is wrong with me?” She trailed off, angry with herself for her horrid memory of the night. N stopped and held her in place.

“I said that if others thought you looked bad, they lacked class. We got to that point by talking about nightwear, then you said that I was dressed well, then I said that, and that was the first time I ever noticed you blush. I thought you were really cute with that dress and the rose in your hair. I even considered figuring out a way to talk longer just because I wanted to talk with you more.” Touko looked up at him.

“Really?”

“Yes. You were so beautiful, it made me want to stay around you.” A call came up on her Xtranciever, but she ignored it. She was overjoyed that N didn’t just think she was pretty, but actually beautiful. It was perhaps the only time a non family member had said that to her. When he released her, she grabbed his hand and they walked into Castelia.That day was the first day of many new goals. N’s new goal was to help Touko through her mental walls, Touko’s new goal was to try to stay positive because she had N and her pokemon, and Touko’s mom had also gotten a new goal. To bring hell to those who had made her daughter suffer so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I wouldn't say it is the most effective way to combat her nightmares, but at least N can help! Stay safe, and tell me if you have a suggestion! Bonus points if you caught the reference by the way! =)


	11. Those Who Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The professor and Touko's mom learn that Touko is dating someone. The professor also learns some things about her lab assistant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter everyone! Enjoy!

Ms White sat at the table with the professor. She had told Bianca’s and Cheren’s parents everything. She sat at the table, crying as the professor tried to comfort her.

“What kind of terrible parent am I? I let this go on for so long...”

“You are not a bad parent. Perhaps you should visit Johto in a couple of weeks. Your husband would be able to help you.”

“But what about Touko? I’m the only one she can talk to with the Xtranciever, and it takes weeks to get letters in between Johto and here!”

“It’ll be fine. Just tell her you’re going to go, and that if she needs something she can call me! I’d be happy to help her!” Ms White smiled. 

“Are you sure it won’t be too much trouble?”

“Absolutely Vanessa! Why wouldn’t I be okay with it? She is my lab assistant after all!”

“Thanks Aurea. You’re right. I need to clear my head for a few days.” She took a deep breath before dialing Touko’s number.

“Hey mom, what’s up?”

“I was wondering if you would have an issue with me going to Johto for a bit. Aurea said she would be here if you needed to talk and-” Touko cut her off.

“Mom, you don’t need to ask me to go on vacation. If you want to visit dad, go right on ahead. Stay for a week, a month, a year. You need to live your own life. I appreciate you telling me, but why do you feel the need to ask? I’m seventeen, you're in your mid forties.”

“I don’t want you to have no one to talk to if you start going a bit stir crazy. It worries me.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it! I’ll always have Aurora and the others, so it’ll be fine! When are you going?”

“Probably about three weeks.”

“Hey, I’ll be in Nimbasa by then! Maybe I can get a video of a pokemon musical for you before you leave! Maybe you can stop by before you go and we can go to one together!” Ms White smiled. Her daughter had always loved the musicals. She hadn’t been to one in quite some time, but her love for them was still undying.

“That sounds like fun. How about 1 week from today?”

“Sounds good to me. Nimbasa is only a couple days on foot.”

“Are you excited for the gym challenges?”

“Not really. Apparently last time I was near Elesa I had a total panic attack. I wonder if Cheren and Bianca have beaten Lenora yet. Do you think they have?”

“I know they haven’t. They’re locked in their houses. Their parents are… not happy. At all. I don’t know what their punishments are going to be, but I doubt it’ll be pleasant.” Touko nodded. She knew their parents, and when Cheren’s mom or Bianca’s dad got fired up, they could be quite cruel.

“I shouldn’t have brought it up. Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure. Let’s go with have you met any new people? Oh, Touko is blushing! Come here Aurea! Look at her! Who’d you find?”

“I’m not blushing!”

“Oh dear, cheeks are flushed and everything! It looks as though your daughter has found someone she likes!”

“Indeed Aurea! Look, she’s even more flushed now!”

“Goodness. Perhaps he is with her? It would be nice to meet this mysterious man.”

“Guys! Not funny!”

“Oh, I am finding this quite enjoyable. Romanticists like you and your mother are so very easy to read. So, what’s he like? Is he cute, is he gruff? Younger or older? Do tell!”

“Fine. He’s older by a couple of years, he’s got green hair, and he is very handsome. He’s also very kind to pokemon.”

“Does he know about the gift?”

“Yep.”

“He must have been so surprised!”

“Well, he can do it too so don’t be all too surprised when you meet him.” The professor just looked confused.

“Gift? What gift?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it Aurea.”

“It’s okay mom. One thing my boyfriend said I needed to work on was hiding less of who I am from people. Besides, it’s the professor. I’ve known her for a while. Okay, how should I put this? So y’know how I started doing stuff around the lab years ago?”

“Yes. You helped me calm down pokemon who were injured in the woods.”

“Yeah. The reason I could do it so well is I can kind of… talk to them. Full on conversations with pokemon have been happening under your nose for the last 7 years. That’s how I always knew what kind of food a pokemon liked. When I asked them, I could actually understand their answers.” The professor looked amazed.

“How did you find this out? You haven’t had your own Pokemon for more than 2 weeks!”

“About that, I’ve uh, been a pokemon trainer since before I moved from Johto. Do you know anything about the three legendary beasts? Yeah, Suicune, or more appropriately Aurora has been with me since before I came here. I’ve trained in secret with Aurora for 7 years.”

“Touko, that’s amazing! That explains why you didn’t want to battle at the lab! You would have smashed the competition!” Touko still looked a little apprehensive, like the professor was going to attack her through the Xtranciever. “And to think you found someone just like that. He must really be something.”

“Yeah. He is. He’s also decently shy, so you might not meet him for a long while. So you aren’t angry with me? For hiding that for years?”

“Why would I be angry? It honestly explains a lot. The fact you knew so much about pokemon you had just met, why you could finish an experiment in a few hours that would take me days. They listened to you, and that has got to be one of the coolest things to ever happen! To think, my assistant is able to do what I wished I could for years.”

“Huh. I figured you would be super unhappy. Phew. Thought that was going to go so much worse. Especially the fact you gave me a pokemon despite me already having one.”

“From what you’ve told me about the beasts, aren’t they some of the strongest beings in the world?”

“Yeah. They're also massive. Aurora is 6 foot 7 inches tall, and the tallest one is about 6’10”. So I’ve had a massive, insanely powerful, old pokemon for the last 7 years.”

“Well, if you wanted to meet any new pokemon, without just fainting them, it would have been difficult. Anyway, tell your boyfriend I said hello! I have to go, but you can call anytime!”

“I’d better get going too Touko. See you in a week?”

“Yep. Love you! Salvum itineribus!” Touko hung up. N had Elpis sitting on his shoulder, and they were talking about the water clearing they had done.

“I never realized so many trainers wanted to help pokemon. Why don’t they join Plasma?”

“They don’t want to be ordered around. They want to go to where actually needs it instead of just whatever will get them along in the news. That and they want to do what they say they’re doing. No offence, but what Plasma says and what they do don’t match. You’ve seen at least one example just recently. I know there are people who genuinely want to help abused pokemon, but that is the tiniest fraction of what Plasma does. I haven’t seen anyone from Plasma but you actually care about pokemon all that much.”

“There is no arguing that some of Plasma does horrible things, but they are for a good cause.”

“‘Ends almost never justify the means’ is something Touko said when I asked her about it. Yes, stopping abusive trainers is a good thing. But destroying the pokemon that are happy to be with their trainers is just as bad, if not worse. Because at least with the abusive trainers, there are few enough that people like you or Touko can stop them. With you guys trying to free all pokemon, innocents get hurt along the way. It’s like Death Note.”

“Death Note?”

“One of the book type things Touko had in her bag. I think it was called a manga. The idea is the question of whether or not killing tons of innocents to stop people from committing crimes worth it? Yes, the crime rate falls in the end, but the perpetrator slaughtered thousands of innocents for that. He sometimes didn’t even target criminals. Sometimes just suspects. He never even bothered to check. Hundreds of thousands, a good chunk of them innocent. This is much the same except instead of criminals and a minority of innocents, it is the exact opposite. Now it’s the vast majority are innocent, and a few are guilty, but Plasma plans on going forward with its pokemon liberation thing.”

“You are exceptionally well versed for a forest dwelling creature. Touko lives near a city, but you don't. You're kind of close, but not that close.”

“Touko explains it when I ask her. She doesn’t like me digging through her bag though.”

“Why?”

“Something about personal stuff. Aurora could explain it to you.”

“Okay. I’ll ask later.” Touko ran back up to the two as she had fallen behind a little.

“Hey, in about a week, I’m going somewhere in Nimbasa with my mom. Did you want to come? I’m sure she’d like to meet you.”

“No thanks. I need to keep my relationship with you a secret. Any other approach is too dangerous. Perhaps one day, I will get to meet your mother without being weighed down by worry, but certainly not in a week.” Touko nodded, knowing she should have been expecting that.

“What will we do if someone finds out? Someone in Plasma? What will you do?”

“We will run. I know not where, but somewhere we can be safe. I will not allow any harm to come to you because of our relationship. Perhaps we will need to separate, but we will always be together.” Touko stopped and considered.

‘I don’t want to be separated from N. He’s nice to me, even if I’m a total idiot and tease him before I’m ready. He isn’t throwing it in my face constantly.’ The sun had already gone down, and blackness filled the road they walked on. He grabbed her hand suddenly.

“N?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Are you okay? You just grabbed my hand suddenly!”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” His voice was shaky.

“You sound scared. What’s wrong?”

“I’m afraid of dark places. I know it’s stupid.”

“Not really. Would you like to stop for a few minutes?”

“Yes please.” They walked over to the side of the road and sat there for a minute. N spoke up first. “Touko?”

“Yes N?”

“I was wondering, how do you deal with your fear?”

“If by deal with, you mean manage, I don’t. I curl up into a ball like the pathetic being I am and I cry.”

“So, it really is that bad for you?”

“Yeah. Still, tons of fears are very real. Darkness holds things you can’t see, fire and lightning are dangerous, drowning is awfully unpleasant, and fear of heights is also very reasonable. Nothing is off the table really. Maybe I am way overboard on my fear, and I shouldn’t hide it, but if I wasn’t so scared of people turning on me, why would they have a right to judge? They haven’t experienced my life. They don’t know.”

“So how do I get rid of my fear?”

“You don’t. Fear is part of life. You may overcome your fears, but they will always be there. Even if I told everyone about me, and nobody left, I would still worry about it. Fear, just like so much of life, is normal. Mine is just worse because of my experiences. Besides, as far as fears go, darkness is very normal. There’s ballistophobia, which is fancy speak for you’re afraid of getting shot. Not sure why anyone would be fine with that. There’s anthrophobia, which means you’re afraid of flowers. I guess some are poisonous, but I don’t know if those types of people fear the actual flowers, or the poison in a few of them. Point is, your fear is neither unhealthy nor particularly strange.”

“So the dark is… not really something to fear?”

“Nope. At least not on its own. The things that are on rare occasions may be dangerous, but that is rare. Darkness itself is just the absence of light. Did you want to set up camp for the night? It’ll be quick, just a few minutes.”

“But don’t you want to reach Castelia by daylight? It’s only a few hours away.”

“Minor inconvenience. For those we care about, we deal with those a lot. Just less time we can spend there by a few hours. Not a real big issue.”

“Oh yeah. There’s one problem with Castelia. It has a Plasma base at it. My fath-. Ghetsis will be there.” Touko caught that.

“That guy is your DAD?!”

“Shh. Yes. He is my father. I occasionally mess up and call him as such. It gets messy when I do.”

“Does he hit you?”

“On occasion.” Anger built up in her. What right did he have to hit N? He wasn’t faultless, but Touko was fine with that. Faultless simply wasn’t attainable. In fact, besides for his ideal, she found the things that were flawed about him cute.

“Okay. I’m gonna rip his spleen out.”

“I would request you stay away from them. I will have to be there, so we can’t make a big ruckus. We won’t be able to talk much in person when we reach Castelia.”

“Okay. As long as you promise to meet me on the road to Nimbasa. How about at route 4 about a mile out of the city? There’s a ruin there, so we can check that out.”

“It sounds good to me. How many days should we stay in Castelia?”

“How about 2? I have things to do there, but that should be enough time.”

“Sure. I’ll spend some time dealing with Plasma matters. You do realize how ridiculous this all is don’t you?”

“What?”

“We are of total opposite goals, but yet we have so much in common. My father is the leader of Team Plasma, and you openly oppose us, yet here we are, with me hopelessly falling for you.” Touko scooted over to him.

“Yes, well, why should we let other people decide whether we can love each other? I may be pathetic, but this is something I won’t compromise on.” They kissed softly and it started to sprinkle. When they finished, Touko pulled out her bedding. It was made of a material that made it very easy to fold into a small package, despite being poofy and large enough for two people. It was also waterproof. She climbed up the hill slightly and set it up where they would be away from prying eyes. He walked over to her. “Get in. It’s big enough for the two of us, and I don’t mind being close to you.”

“That’s good, because I don’t mind being close to you either.” The two climbed in and N held Touko as the two drifted to sleep. She loved him. He loved her. They were the ones that cared for one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always imagined Professor Juniper as German. Not really sure why. I just always thought of her as having a thick-ish accent. It's why her speech is segmented slightly. I based it on a friend who speaks German natively, but their English is very segmented. So that's a thing you know now.


	12. Regret, Mercy, Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko finally stands! Important, given just how much she'll need to later!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I've been forgetting to update this, so here you guys go! Hope you enjoy!

Ms White sat at her dining room table with Bianca’s mom. Tension was in the air, but the two were just discussing events.

“So Vanessa, what do you think Bianca’s punishment should be?”

“She raped my daughter. I don’t know what you should do with her, I just want her away from Touko permanently. Maybe a boarding school. Perhaps being the new kid would give her a taste of what my daughter has suffered through her whole life. Perhaps one in which she will have no true friends.”

“That sounds a little cruel.”

“Is it? My daughter has been the victim of merciless physical, mental, and sexual abuse for years now. Why is your daughter experiencing two of those not fair payback? Touko spent years terrified that Cheren and Bianca would leave her if she stood up for herself. So in return for her support, what did she get? Beatings, tauntings, and losing her virginity long before she was ready. She wasn’t even interested in Bianca like that, but Bianca didn’t care.”

“Yes. I suppose you are right. We’ll send her to that boarding school in Kanto that is known for whipping people into shape. We’ll start the application process tonight.”

“Thank you. Just as a side thing, please don’t let this ruin our friendship. I’m just looking out for my child.”

“I know. You are in no way in the wrong. Were our positions switched, I would expect nothing less than fair punishment.” The two exchanged goodbyes and Bianca’s mom left. She arrived back at her house and saw Bianca watching TV, regret in her eyes. Bianca’s mom turned off the TV.

“What did she say?”

“Basically what you’d expect. She wants you to experience the not sexual assault stuff you put her daughter through. She also wants you to stay away from Touko from now on.”

“How am I going to experience that? How does one just experience that?”

“You will be going to the boarding school your father went to. The new kid feeling you’ll get will be plenty. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Mostly. I wouldn’t have agreed if it was going to be painless.”

“I guess that’s fair. I want to say something to Touko first before I go. When will I be going?”

“Thursday. The day after Cheren is getting shipped off to that all boys school.”

“Huh. Was that planned?”

“Not really. You’ll spend some time there, so get comfortable. When you get back, you’ll do 80 hours of community service. Capiche?”

“Yes ma’am. May I ask Ms White to speak to Touko before I go?”

“Why don’t you go play chicken on the railroad tracks? It’d be a more entertaining way to off yourself.”

“So no?”

“Unless you suddenly have something beyond important to say to Touko, Ms White probably won’t let you. I certainly am not giving you your Xtranciever back, so you can try, just don’t be expecting anything grand.”

“I’ll go in the morning. It’s a little late to be bothering her.”

“Okay. Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

N woke up, holding something soft. He squished it in his hand and it was squishy too. He looked over and noticed he was holding Touko’s breast. He squeezed it again and Touko gave a small moan. They must have been sensitive. She was still asleep, so he knew that even if he wanted to continue, fondling her would be violating her. He got up from the sleeping bag, not wanting to be tempted.

‘So that’s what they feel like. Why is my penis so hard? It got like that when Touko did that thing with her mouth and her hands, and she said it had to do with sexual arousal, and that it was natural. She was so soft though. So squishy. Kind of like a pillow. A moaning, beautiful, pillow that trusts me with her life. At least it is both ways. Well, not the moaning bit. I don’t think I’m beautiful either. So really it’s just the trusting each other part. She uses different adjectives to describe me. Handsome, dashing, prince charming. Not really sure what that last one means. I’m not technically a Prince, but I think it’s another one of her strange mannerisms. I still like it though.’ Touko stirred, blinking slowly adjusting to the morning light.

“Good morning Touko. Did you sleep well?” She blushed, not something she normally did.

“I had a… very pleasant dream. You?”

“My dream was pleasant too. I seem to remember something about flying on a pokemon. What was your dream about?”

“Oh y’know, stuff.”

“Vague. Are you going to give details, or are you just going to leave it at that?”

“I think it’d be better to keep it at that for now. How long have you been up?”

“About 15 minutes. Which would make it about 7:45.”

“That explains why I feel so tired. Times like this, I really wish I could sleep through everything.”

“Still tired?”

“Yeah. 7:45 is too early for me.” He picked her up and set her against a tree. He folded her bedding and put it on her bag. It had a specific spot for it, so he just clipped it on. He shouldered her bag and picked her up. She had already fallen asleep again, so the only noise she made was with her quiet breathing. He smiled. His girlfriend really did like her sleep. When they were only a few miles from Castelia, N set her down and woke her up.

“Time to wake up. Beyond here is Castelia city. I’ll see you in a couple of days, okay?”

“Okay.” The two kissed for a minute before he headed into the city. She decided she would wait a bit and sent out Shell. “Hey Shell. It looks like we have some time to kill.” It started raining again after Touko and Shell got into the city, nearly half an hour later. She walked over to the Castelia cone stand and got into line. She got one, probably because no one eats ice cream when it’s cool outside from rain. After that, she headed to the gym. The smells of autumn were in the air. The trees were turning orange, yellow, and red. Pumpkins were being sold at the stores, and she could smell apple pie being made. Even in the city, with cars everywhere, it smelled crisp, almost like she could smell Halloween. She walked past the market, which had a small fair for children, and up to the gym. She got in and looked around.

“Oh, for fucks sake! Honey?! Do they realize how hard it is to clean my hair without honey in it?! This is gonna suck later!” She walked through the honey wall, really wishing to stab Burgh for this. She got through the gym, each honey wall making her want to punch Burgh a little more. She finally got to him after several minutes of cussing.

“Well, look who finally made it! Touko, how have you been?”

“Every fiber of my willpower is being used to not drown you in those damn honey walls!” He laughed.

“Don’t like this gym’s gimmick?”

“Look at my fucking hair! It’s nasty! Please tell me you have teleport pads in here.”

“Nope. You have to go through it all again.”

“How are you so clean?”

“We open them so the trainers can take position”

“Are… Are you fucking serious? These open and I’m going to have to walk back through them again?”

“Probably more then once. This is a gym challenge after all.”

“Oh no. If you somehow win, I’ll fucking beat you within an inch of your life. I am NOT doing this ever again!”

“Come now, it isn’t that bad!”

“Burgh, your hair isn’t like mine! Cleaning it normally is a pain! You made me get fucking honey in it!” He shrugged.

“Then you’d better win!” He unclipped a pokeball and Touko did the same. She wanted nothing more than to use Aurora, but she knew better. Aurora was only to fight when it was necessary or if the legendary wanted to super badly. She pulled out Elpis and started the fight. It was a one sided smash. She wasn’t holding back, she was angry, and she was a very focused trainer. When she was done, she took the badge, turned, and sighed.

“Are you sure you can’t just open them once?”

“Positive. What would the fun in that be?”

“Fucking psychopath. By the way, Plasma is setting up a base in the city somewhere. I’d request you don’t go after them for a couple days.”

“Why not?”

“There’s someone who I don’t want caught in the crossfire. That person is leaving in a couple of days though, so could you send the police after them then?”

“I don’t suppose you’ll leave until I promise?”

“Nope.”

“Okay. I promise. Now hurry up and go. I have painting to get to!” She nodded and walked back out of the gym. The rain felt nice on her disgusting skin, so she sat in the heavy downpour for a second. She headed to the hotel and got a room, needing a shower that would probably last quite some time. She walked into the looby.

“I’d like to check into a room please.” The person at the counter looked up.

“Burgh’s gym?”

“Yeah.”

“That hair is going to be hard to clean. What kind of room do you want?”

“A two bed room please. I don’t want my pokemon to be uncomfortable.”

“Understandable. Well, I have a room on the third floor that would work perfectly. Just please, try not to touch a ton of stuff.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I’m not gonna try to get everything dirty.” She walked up the stairs and made it to her room. She didn’t even let her pokemon out, but she felt so disgusting she hadn’t even really thought about it. She got into the shower, having the warm water turned on because she knew it would be easier to clean it out of her hair. An hour and a half later, she got the sticky substance out of her hair completely, and walked back into the main part of her room. She was happy that she felt clean, and her Xtranciever rang. It was her mother. She slapped it on her wrist and answered it.

“Heya mom, how are you?”

“Just fine, you?”

“I just got from Burgh’s gym about an hour and forty minutes ago. It had these horrible honey walls, and it got all in my hair!”

“You must have been furious!”

“You bet I was! He wouldn’t even open them when I was done, so I had to go through some of them again! It took forever to get out of my hair!”

“I bet. When are you headed to Nimbasa?”

“Tomorrow. We decided to only spend a couple of days here, and today was the first day. We’re gonna leave later in the day.”

“We?”

“My boyfriend was in on it too. We’re gonna go stargazing before I leave to go somewhere!” Bianca and Cheren were sitting on the couch in front of Ms White, giving the most perplexed look.

“She has a boyfriend?”

“Since when?”

“Ah the young man! How is he?”

“He’s good! He wanted to go look for something today, and tomorrow, he’s going to challenge the gym before we go. It’s gonna suck.”

“Why?”

“His hair is bushy. Like mine, except less poofy.”

“Ah, I see. Touko, may I ask you something?”

“Of course!”

“Would you be willing to speak to Cheren and Bianca at all before they leave?” Touko’s face warped slightly, distaste showing very clearly.

“Let me guess, they’re right behind you.”

“In front actually. How did you guess?”

“Your tone got really uncomfortable. Anyway, I’ll talk to them, I will get what’s on my mind to them and be done. I won’t let them ruin my goodish day.” There was whistling and cheering. “So I’m gonna guess there are more people behind you than Bianca and Cheren?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s parents are here. They seem happy with your little speech. Here Bianca.” She handed the phone to Bianca.

“Touko, I just wanted to say-”

“Sorry? Apologizing only means something if you change something. I’d like to make something clear Bianca. You aren’t sorry. Neither is Cheren. I spent years being supportive of you guys, defending you guys, and all I have to show for it is a wasted childhood. If you were sorry, you would have stopped a long time ago. Now, guess what? Instead of being dragged down, I’m making it a goal to enjoy life. To make friends. To spend time with my family, my pokemon, and my boyfriend. I’m done hiding who I am or what I like because of people like you two.”

“But I’m trying to apologize!”

“Yes, because you got caught. If you hadn’t gotten caught, what exactly would have happened? I know for a fact there wouldn’t be anyone apologizing. Not me, not you, not Cheren. In fact, turn the volume up. I’d like to say something to both of you.” Bianca pressed the volume up button a few times and brought Cheren into view. “Thanks for not being there for me for years. It may have been so bad it made me consider whether my life was worth living, but because of that things are different now. I know what makes a person a friend. Whether that title is just hollow. Devoid of any meaning. Because in the end, we were never friends. I was just a thing you wanted to sleep with, so you tried to bring me down. You weren’t mean to me because you wanted to be popular. No. You broke me because you wanted to be the dominant ones in the relationship you wanted oh so badly. I’m done being there for you, because you were never there for me.” She hung up, feeling a sense of pride. She had finally stood for herself. She didn’t let them get to her head. She didn’t let them make excuses. She had completed the triangle. They felt regret, but not just for what they did, just that they got caught. Ms White had given a merciful option to their parents. Far better than they deserved in her mind. Touko had been truth. She told them how she felt, and denied them the opportunity to hurt her more by not hiding behind lies. Touko looked out of the window, heavy rain pouring outside. She let her pokemon out of the pokeballs and went back to the window. She opened the curtain and the window, letting the smell of rain in. She looked out of the window, content and smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! It was a shorter chapter than usual, but it was a ton of fun to write this one! Like a lot of stuff, the end of this chapter is a diet version of what a given friend of mine dealt with. Beatings, sexual assault, verbal bullying. Then one day, a nice guy (he must have gotten treated similarly when he was a kid) helped him out. The elderly man showed my friend just how important he was. My friend is actually where a lot of Touko comes from. Pyrophobia, love of animals, a swordsman, and someone who wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force.


	13. The First Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko explains the 'finer' sections of relationships to N.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once again! I've been putting off actually posting these, so I'm on like, chapter 26. It's sort of strange having to re-read every chapter I post just to figure out what I was writing about. Anyway, enjoy!

N liked rain. It was quite a bit softer than the day before, but still quite heavy. He had gone to a different hotel than Touko, just to be safe. He knew that he wished to see her, and worried obsessively over her. He didn’t like the idea of Ghetsis finding out and hurting her. He shook the thought.

‘Aurora could slaughter the entire city with ease. Dangerous as Ghetsis can be, he is still mortal. She will be safe, unless she is seen with me.’ He continued on his way. He stopped in front of the gym door. ‘Touko said that the inside was quite nasty, so I’d better tie my hair up.’ He walked through the door while braiding his hair. He looked up to see exactly what Touko was talking about. He sighed, putting his hand to his forehead.

“Did they not think about how stupid that was? Touko must have been so frustrated. She gave me her last few hair ties, and she said she went here first. She also isn’t the biggest fan of sticky things. Especially near her hair." He stepped toward the honey wall and moved through it. “That was unpleasant. How can he do work with paint in here? It smells so sweet. Nauseatingly so. Mixing that with the smell of paint would be super unpleasant.” He moved through the gym, making his way toward the back. He eventually had enough. He pulled out Zoroark. “Use flamethrower on these walls. I am quite annoyed with them.”

“Sure.” Zoroark lit up the honey wall and it melted, leaving the gym leader completely in the open.

“Why would you do that?! Do you realize the amount of artistry that went into that?!”

“Art is meant to be an expression of one’s self. It is not meant to irritate people. Your work is quite nice when I’m not walking through it. It is awful when I am though. Perhaps if you didn’t make your walls out of such a viscous material, I wouldn’t have done that. Frankly I’m surprised it doesn’t happen to you more.”

“Art is art! Even if you don’t like it!”

“Are we in a gallery? No. This is a place meant to test strength. Not to test my ability to walk through honey. Do you ever make tea with it?”

“No! It is honey, but it isn’t meant to be consumed!’

“Then what exactly is its purpose? Last I checked, honey was meant as food. It is created by some species of Beedrill. It is not for making things. It is meant only as food. Even if you find a different use for it, that different use isn’t always going to work well. Perhaps if you had a gym centered around the pokemon instead of the thing they produce, it would work much better.”

“How can you be so sure? Maybe it represents something.”

“The two other gyms I have been to have represented the leader’s interests. Your interest is bug pokemon and battling. If I was to look at you, I don’t think my first thought would be that you like annoying people. Or wasting time. You enjoy art. Why don’t you organize this place to reflect that?” He considered for a moment.

“I’ll consider it. If you can defeat me in battle.” The two drew their pokemon. Zoroark was at a type disadvantage, but was much faster than his opponents. His opponents were also weak to fire, which he knew how to use. The battle wasn’t really close, but N was still worried about his Zoroark getting hurt. When he got back to his hotel, he took a shower and went to bed. He knew he was going to need to be up in a few hours.

Touko sat alone at a pond. N wasn’t going to meet her for another two hours, and they were meeting at the desert route anyway. It was getting dark, but that didn’t mean much. She looked around, wanting no prying eyes, and undressed. She jumped into the clean pond and felt great. It was cool and refreshing, and she loved skinnydipping. She liked swimming normally, but didn’t like feeling like she was restricted. Swimsuits did that a lot. Touko was always very flexible, so it bothered her when she felt as though she could fly, but was grounded in reality by something like a swimsuit. She swam for 30 minutes before her alarm went off and she got out. She knew it wouldn’t take that long to get to where she was going, but she didn’t want to keep N waiting if he was there early. She dried herself off, making sure that she was completely dry. She didn’t want the sand from the desert route to stick to her skin She hated things sticking to her. It made her feel nasty. The one exception to this was the sand on the beach. She wasn’t sure why, but that was extremely different from the sandstorms. Maybe because the beach’s sand was soft in comparison to the harsh conditions of the desert. She finished drying herself off and wrapped her hair in the towel before putting some clothes on. She looked at her body.

“Maybe I should apply for a modeling position. Do I look good enough to be a model? Probably not. Actually, why don’t I try anyway? I’m certainly no expert in modeling and maybe I could make it to a backup position. I won’t get further than that, competition is going to be tough. Even if I don’t make it, it’s not a big deal. Not like I’m gonna be any further behind then I was before.” Touko finished getting dressed and walked over to her meeting spot with N. Only a few minutes later, he arrived.

“I didn’t know early was something you did. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah. I just figured since I was done swimming, I’d head over here.”

“But you don’t have a swim suit.”

“Didn’t use one. Not like anyone was watching. Come on let’s go.” The two started walking.

“What if someone was?”

“Then the creep got a good look at my ass. Big deal. If some guy and or girl got off to watching me swim while exposing my crotch, then they need to find a better hobby than watching a 17 year old girl swim nude.”

“You seem very unconcerned about anyone that could have seen you exposed like that. Especially since you won’t even undress in front of your pokemon.”

“What were they gonna do? Run down the hill and stick their dick up my vagina? Good as it would probably feel, I would probably murder them for it, since I didn’t give them permission, and they weren’t you. The two things someone needs before I would even consider letting them do that. Even with you I’m not ready, so why would I let them?”

“What is a Vagina?” Touko blushed.

“Oh. Probably shouldn’t have said that out loud. It’s one of two things girls have guys stick their penis in to give them pleasure. Or to get pregnant, but we certainly won’t be doing that ANYTIME soon. I’m not ready to be a mother.”

“One of two?” Touko blushed harder. She cursed at herself for talking without thinking. She figured she would have to explain it at some point though.

“I really need to shut my mouth. I’ll explain it if you promise to stop thinking about it for quite some time.”

“Okay.”

“So one of them is the vaginal, that’s the one you’re meant to do it with. However, the other way to do it is called anal. It is exactly what it sounds like. A male sticks his part into the girls ass.”

“But doesn’t that hurt?”

“At first. Having never done it with another human, I can’t really say it hurts less, but I know it doesn’t hurt more. If you see me limping and ask about it, either I hit my leg, or I’ve been messing with that.”

“That still seems strange to do. Why would you do that for pleasure?”

“Well, it feels good to the guy. I assume. It might be a little painful for the girl at first, but it feels divine after a little bit. It is probably a bit extreme for any first timer, whether a girl or a guy, but believe me. It is one of the best feelings to ever happen to a girl.”

“But what about… Never mind. You said to stop thinking about it.” Touko sighed. She figured there was no point in delaying it.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll need to explain it to you at some point. Not gonna just throw you into the deep end.”

“Well what about what you did with me? You used your hand and mouth.”

“Yeah. That’s a little different. Those are things couples do when they want to pleasure each other without going all the way. There are quite a few things like it, but the things I gave you are called Blowjobs and handjobs. Basically the girl uses her hands and mouth to get the guy to cum. The liquid that comes out when you feel the best is called cum. It is also what you put in a girl to make her have a baby, but that only happens with vaginal sex. The moment you do that, it is called a climax. Apparently a ton of girls can’t really do it, but most girls and nearly every guy can.”

“But if you were to ask me to pleasure you without actually having full on sex, what would I do?”

“Fingering, fisting, and groping. Those are the most common ways to go about it.”

“You must realize you’re going to have to explain those to me. I have absolutely no clue what any of that means.”

“I kind of expected that. Fingering is when you use your fingers, duh, to play with a girl’s vagina. It is the most common form of teasing or masturbation that is out there for girls. The more extreme version of that is fisting. You stick your hand into one of her holes and pull out. Over and over and over. Groping is very simple. It would be you grabbing me by the breasts, the vagina, or the ass and squeezing, palm being the thing making the most contact. Sometimes I do more than one at a time. Oh yeah, there are also boob jobs. Forgot those earlier. Basically all that entails is using my breasts to jerk you off. Fairly simple stuff.”

“Wait, were you going back to a previous thought on that? I don’t have the capability to ‘jerk you off’ if I understand correctly.”

“Yeah. That one belonged back a bit in the ‘things I can do for you’ section. That should be all of the basics though. Oh yeah, and there’s also contraception, but we’ll get to that later.”

“Huh. Well, I’m going to stop thinking about it and instead focus on another topic. How was your day?”

“I had some fun. Talked to Elpis about dresses. Decided I would try to get a position in one of Elesa’s modeling shows. Talked to Shell about pokemon evolution. He's very excited to be a Samurott. You?”

“Fine I suppose. I went to the gym and just about strangled Burgh. I had Zoroark melt the honey walls though. It made it easy, but I was still a mess. I went back to the apartment and took a nap after taking a shower, and here I am.” He considered for a moment. “Wait, did you just say you were going to try for a modeling position?”

“Yeah. I won’t make it far though. They want the girls that look good in makeup. I can’t wear most makeup. I’m allergic to everything but eyeliner, lipstick, and a few other things. I can’t do anything that changes my extremely pale skin.”

“Well, if you look better without makeup than they do one way or another, I don’t see what the issue is. When are you signing up?”

“After my day with my mom. She’ll still be in Unova by the time the showing is, and she religiously watches Elesa and her stuff. Just like I do. Who knows, maybe one of the leads will get stage fright and be forced off.” N chuckled.

“You really don’t have faith in your looks, do you? I’m sure you’ll do fine. You look like a model to me, and I don’t even have much experience with it!”

“I guess. Hey, what time is it?”

“The first hour will strike in half an hour. Perhaps it is good that we started moving early.” The two walked in silence for a bit. Touko was still blushing, but stopped when N ran his fingers through her hair. 

‘God, I love it when he does that. I don’t know why, but it is so nice. Almost like an electric shock! He must do that a lot to his pokemon! That would explain why it feels so damn good!’ She relaxed as he did it more, and eventually all the tension in her body was gone. She stayed there, wanting him to continue. She was practically purring with every stroke through her hair.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. You aren’t a pokemon, and I shouldn’t treat you like one.”

“No, it’s fine. Please go back to it. It feels relaxing.” He smiled and continued. They walked for a bit more until Touko sunk to her knees in sand. “Oh!” N grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up.

“You should be more careful!” She smiled at him.

“Well, what can I say? I was distracted by an angel!” He blushed. He really liked it when Touko said stuff like that. It felt impactful, like he was in heaven or in some other paradise. She grabbed his hand and carefully stepped with him around the sand. She found a stick and started poking at the ground, determining which spots were really safe. They set up camp near the side of the road. It wasn’t really a camp. Touko was too tired for that. She and N sat down and she snuggled up real close to him. He was shaking. “Hey it’s okay. I’m here. The dark won’t do anything right now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. If it’ll help, I’ll sing you a lullaby. I know a few.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I’ll sing it to you. It was something my mom used to sing when I started having bad nightmares. No one else in the world knows the lyrics but my family. Not even family friends.” She started to sing softly, her voice calming, almost motherly. N stopped shaking, his fear melting away as he drifted to sleep. She finished and smiled. He slept soundly. Touko was very protective of that song, the song her mother had called ‘The Hero of Nights.’ She figured if anyone had the right to hear it, it was the man that brought the best out of her. She leaned on his shoulder and went to bed. The first hour was over, and it had gone beyond love at first sight for them. Now it was imprinted in their hearts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> N. Brilliant, but somehow so clueless. I guess that's what would happen if you had a dad that raised you to be an innocent yet brilliant person.


	14. Blades of The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko is convinced to take an ancient weapon of war by N and Aurora. Then she meets someone she hates, possibly more than she hated N for the whole Munna fiasco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for making you wait a month for this one! Enjoy!

The two had woken up, much to Touko’s dismay, at N’s regular 7:30 time. Touko decided to walk, thinking it rude to have N carry her every time they got up early. They spent hours just walking, the construction projects sprawling around them. They eventually reached a small food truck and got breakfast. They conversed with the older man making the food for a bit. He was apparently one of the fathers of one of the men building this highway. He said it would make getting supplies for people and pokemon from Nimbasa to Castelia easier. 

“Times like this, we need a little push. Our pokemon do a lot for us, so we decided to make a statue of every pokemon involved in making this construction project possible. We have quite a lot of work to do, but when we’re done with the road, all the humans are gonna throw a little party for what the pokemon do. Just don’t be saying much about it. It’s gonna be a surprise!”

“All of them? That is gonna be a huge statue!”

“Yep! 67 pokemon on the job!”

“Well, that sounds… awesome! What do you think N?”

“I am once again at a loss for words. I didn’t know that many people cared that much.” He looked at the kind old man who was finishing up their burritos. His food truck looked very beat up. He gave them their food and rang them up.  
  


“That’ll be-” N put 5000 pokedollars on the food truck’s lip. The old man tried to reason it, and when he tried to shove it back N shook his head.

“You need it more than I do. Money is of no concern to me. Use it to fix your truck up. You are a kind person. Thank you.” He grabbed their food and Touko waved goodbye. The man had tears in his eyes. He looked at the picture of his wife on the wall.

“It looks like your blessing is still with us. Our sons are making the world a better place, and strangers have been kind to me.” He sniffled and put the money into his safe. He prayed that the two strangers would be safe in their travels.

Touko and N traveled for a bit longer before reaching a small turn. They went to the left and before long, they entered into a small building. It was early, but there were a few people sitting about. Some looked to be in some sort of pain.

“Touko, are those people okay?”

“Kinda. It looks like I did when I got hit by a confusion. There are probably psychic pokemon up ahead. We should be careful.”

“Are they aggressive?”

“Depends. Sensitive is the word I’d use. If they can feel emotions, probably not. If they can’t, they might be. If they can’t understand our thoughts, they might feel threatened.”

“Huh. Why do you know so much about psychic pokemon? You don’t have any in your team.”

“I have a friend named Red. He’s a pokemon master. When he was still a normal trainer, he met a pokemon named Mewtwo. He helped Mewtwo get away from a man named Giovani, so Mewtwo and Red bonded. At first, Red didn’t even try to catch Mewtwo. He figured whatever had made Mewtwo so aggressive in comparison to the playful pokemon Mew was reason to just leave him be. When Red was surrounded by Team Rocket, Mewtwo went… a little mental.”

“A little mental?”

“Yeah. He ripped three of the grunts in half with his telekinetic powers. He accidentally hit Red with a psychic blast in the process. It hospitalized Red for a week. That’s what taught him about Psychic types. He told me that tons of Psychics are very sensitive, so I needed to be careful around them. I guess he wasn’t joking either.”

“Did he catch Mewtwo after that, or what happened?”

“Mewtwo got Red to a hospital and stayed with him. I guess something snapped in Mewtwo’s psyche that day, so he asked Red to capture him. Kind of a way to make him less dangerous I guess. Red didn’t want to restrict him, but Mewtwo convinced him. I guess the whole ‘almost killing your only friend’ thing made Mewtwo really think about how powerful he really was.”

“He wanted to be captured?”

“Yeah. Last time I was in Johto, I talked to Mewtwo and the others Red has with him. None of them had any problem with being with Red. His pokemon are really nice, but the Pikachu and the Charizard freak me out.”

“No doubt. Why are there so many instances of people caring about their pokemon and vice versa? Were they always there? Is it just you bringing the best out of people?”

“No, it isn’t me. You just didn’t see it before. I know the feeling. I used to hate most trainers. I figured they were selfish, and their pokemon didn’t choose to be with them. I thought I was the only one who actually cared. Over time, I realized that without the bonds that trainers and pokemon formed, there would be a lot more pokemon like Mewtwo. Alone. Afraid. Maybe some trainers push too hard. Some really do. Most people don’t though. They aren’t just tools. They’re part of our lives. They are our friends and family.”

“Huh. Should we eat? Don’t want the food to get cold.” The two sat down and started to eat their burritos. Touko was kind of in a trancelike state. She was feeling tired, bobbing back and forth like she was drunk. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just sleepy. I’ll wake up after I eat. By the way, why did you give that guy such a massive tip? I couldn’t match that if I tried!”

“Maybe not, but he looked like he needed it. His truck was damaged, and he was so kind. I can’t think of a time in the past of my father telling me about people like him. He was so caring. He sounded excited about that statue too.”

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t put anything toward that. I don’t even have that much on me, and I didn’t want to give a pitiful little tip. It makes it look like I don’t appreciate it.”

“Don’t worry about it. That tip was from both of us. By the way, what is the plan for today?”

“We’re gonna spend the day at that ruin. There aren’t many people that actually make it there, but I know how to navigate harsh conditions. Even sandstorms. It’ll be fun!”

“And messy. Our hair is going to be so filled with sand.” Touko giggled sleepily before biting into her burrito. 

“Hey, as long as it isn’t honey, we’ll be fine! If there’s a honey storm, I’m sure it’ll be something we can avoid!” He nodded as the two continued to eat. The food was very good, so the man must have been good at cooking these. N figured that made sense. He did talk about being there for the workers and he knew it had been a project for quite some time. They finished up and continued on their way. Touko handed N a pair of glasses. They were tinted black, and they fit him. He was confused.

“Why do I need sunglasses?”

“I got you those so you wouldn’t get sand in your eyes. The stuff is like pepper spray if it’s moving fast enough. Besides, when we get to Nimbasa, so much of the city is reflective and shiny that you may want to wear them there. I usually do.” N nodded again and put them on. She grabbed his hand and pulled out a compass. They moved west for a bit and then some north. It wasn’t long until they reached a structure that looked like N to be a sand submerged castle. He wasn’t sure what it was about it, but it made him uneasy. Touko walked into the main room and took her glasses off. She turned on a flashlight to illuminate the dark room. “Well, we seem to be in a sort of lobby. Or what was at some point a lobby before whatever hit this place turned it to glass. Wait, glass? Why would it be glass?”

“I don’t know. This isn’t what I was expecting. Haven’t you been here before?”

“Nope. My mom and I never went near Nimbasa except when we were going to musicals or going shopping. We never even went on this route. We always just flew.”

“Huh. So this is a new place for you too. Comforting.”

“Well, if we want to start getting used to this place, we should start looking around. If you see anything interesting, call it out. I want to take some pictures for my dad.”

“Your dad?”

“Yeah. I guess I haven’t talked much about him with you. He’s an archeologist. He was with me the day I met Aurora. He’s super supportive. He really enjoys seeing stuff from different places, so I send him pictures of Unova in my letters to him! It seems to make him happy, so why not?”

“Intriguing. I should very much like to meet your parents someday. Our situation doesn’t permit it now, but perhaps in time I will be able to.”

“I wish we didn’t have to hide. Why does your dad give a damn about you dating people? Not like he overly seems to care if you’re wandering around alone, in a region were if you’re found out to be Plasma, people might hurt you. If he’s gonna be an asshole and ignore you, he could at least ignore you all the way. At least then I could go places with you without either of us having to worry about getting attacked by some Plasma grunt.”

“I assure you, it would not just be some grunt. He would probably send the Shadow Triad.”

“Shadow Triad?”

“Ninjas. They would try to hurt you. Aurora would kill them all, but they might still hurt you. Try to stay out of the spotlight.”

“I’ll note that. Come on, we should enjoy ourselves! It isn’t every day you get to explore ancient ruins like these!” She grabbed his hand and dragged him with her. They checked every room, and found some cool stuff. Touko was taking a picture of something when she fell over suddenly. She fell backwards but N caught her before she went down much.

“You should be more careful. As much as I enjoy holding you, I might miss you sometime!” She blushed and smiled coyly.

“But I want you to hold me, especially in… other ways.” She guided his hands up her chest to her breasts and had him squeeze them. She felt a bulge in his pants. “Wouldn’t you agree love?”

“Do you want me to?” 

“Please, I haven’t had the opportunity to do this in about a week! Please give it to me!” N obliged, gripping her breasts and fondling them. Her hand went down, but he stopped her.

“May I?”

“Absolutely!” He unbuttoned her shorts and dropped her panties to the ground. She stepped out of them and he stuck his fingers in. She moaned as the ecstasy filled her mind, letting the pleasure wash over her. N wondered what she would do if he did more. He used his fingers to part the fleshy walls and she threw her head back. He pulled her head to the right, kissing her as he fingered her. He went back to groping her, having her enjoy herself as much as possible. She was living it. N was surprised at how easy it was to please her. He picked her up and put her on a solid stone table. “N, I don’t think we should be doing it on thisss.” Her voice trailed off as N licked her and sent a shockingly good sensation down her entire body. He looked up at her.

“Do you want me to keep going?”

“Oh god! Yes! Please!” He smiled and went back to her crotch, licking her delicate slit. He spread her flesh with his fingers and stuck his tongue into her, and she moaned louder. She started to pant. “Don’t stop! I’m about to cum!” He went at it even more aggressively, prodding her with his tongue. Her head went back further and her eyes rolled back. “I’m cumming!” Liquid sprayed into N’s mouth and he replaced his tongue with his fingers, kissing the girl. The orgasmic fluid passing between their mouths. When he released the kiss, he looked at Touko. She was panting as her body spasmed, her hips bucking slightly. Her tongue was out, her eyes were still a little crossed, and her lower half was completely exposed. He sat next to her.

“Did it feel good?”

“It was absolutely amazing! How did you do all of that? I don’t even think we went over that last night!”

“Instinct. You look good when you finish. Why do you make that face?”

“Oh, habit. I read a ton of porn, and that is something I’ve picked up. It’s kind of like a face to show that you really like what’s happening to your body. Turn around real quick.” He turned toward her, and she unzipped his pants. She wanted to repay him for the best feeling thing that had happened to her in a long while. He stopped her.

“Why are you doing that?”

“To repay you! You really made me feel great!”

“But this was to repay you for that first day. After all, you did do that. It was truly incredible.”

“Well, why don’t we repay each other at the same time. Your finger me, fist me, and grope me. Whatever you want. Right now, treat me like I’m your property. In exchange, I’ll stroke you and deepthroat your cock. I’ll treat you like a King should be treated. Does that sound fair?”

“Yes. Shall we get started?” Touko responded by spreading her legs and grabbing his dick. He was determined to pleasure her. He wasn’t sure what she’d meant by ‘treat her like she was his property’ but he figured it meant to be a little more rough. He thought about it for a second before flipping Touko’s lower half over. He put his hand into a fist shape and eased into her. Touko froze for a second, surprised he understood what she had meant.

‘God, yes! Fist my ass! I’m yours! Make me cum again! God I love him! He isn’t just one of the best people in existence, but he’s also one of the best physically too!’ She went at him with renewed strength and kept going. He was obviously enjoying Touko’s actions, and she wasn’t about to disappoint him. Several minutes later, Touko could feel it coming. ‘Oh god! I’m cumming again! Oh! He’s cumming too! Get it all the way down!’ Touko went down on his hard cock as she felt herself cumming, her body tingling from the orgasm. She stayed there, choking, but feeling the hot liquid go down her throat whilst also filling her mouth made her not really care about it. She pulled back off after a few seconds, a strand of cum running down her cheek. She swallowed, put her clothes back on, and smiled.

“That was fun! You did great!”

“Thanks. Sorry if it wasn’t the best. I’m still very new to this…”

“Take it from me, you’re incredible! Now come on, we’d better get moving! Onwards, to adventure!” He zipped up his pants and followed her. They ran for a bit until the floor got a little shaky beneath them. Touko pulled out a stick and felt the floor, hitting it to make sure it was stable. She hit a spot that was just about to fall, and it caved in the ground underneath it. Touko fell for a couple of seconds before hitting the ground.

“Touko! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Ouch, that freakin’ hurt. What is with me and falling?”

“You and the ground seem attracted to each other. Maybe you should not fall down in the future. I find that it helps with the hitting the ground issue that seems to plague you.”

“Okay circus balancer, very funny. Can you throw my flashlight down? I can’t see.”

“Sure.” He dropped it and heard Touko catch it.

“N, you need to see this! It’s a room filled with armour! Knight’s armour!” He jumped down, rolling as he landed. He looked up in amazement. There were 9 suits of armour lined up, with the 5th one from the end carrying a pristine sword. All the others were rusted or snapped, but this suit had a gleaming sword with words engraved in its blade. N approached it.

“I don’t know what it says. Can you read it?”

“Yeah. It says… ‘Blessed are those who protect the innocent.’ Why is this here? Why is it in such good shape?” Touko pulled out Aurora. “What’s with this sword?”

“It seems to be a blade made out of the metal Trulium. I would have to be ancient. I have never seen a modern day forge work with it.” N stepped up, looking at the blade in awe.

“Why not?”

“To melt it, you need it to be so hot that any other metal would burst into flame.”

“Oh.” N walked up and grabbed the sword’s handle. When he removed it, it felt unsteady. He handed it to Touko, not sure of how to hold it. She grabbed it and looked at it.

“It’s light as a feather! What’s with this thing?”

“Light as it may be, it could cut clean through stone. You should take it with us. You are a blade master, and using it may tip the balance of certain ordeals one way or another.”

“It doesn’t have a sheath. Besides, I’m not a ‘master’ or anything like that. Mom is a master swordsman. I’m mediocre.”

“Well, if your mother is a master, then you are too. She has told me her thoughts on it. Including how you could hold your own or possibly best her. Not every time, but sometimes. Besides, you might well need a blade such as that.”

“Aurora is right. You should take it. If anyone should use a blade this rare, it should be you. After all, you are a practised swordsman. It would be wasted otherwise. Besides, there’s a sheath at its hip.” N pulled it off and slung it over Touko’s back, adjusting the straps to fit her slender frame. She sheathed the blade and looked up. She recalled Aurora and the couple began to climb the short distance. When they got out, they were tired, but they had tons of fun. N and Touko had taken pictures, written things down, and did some other basic archaeological work. When they got to the Nimbasa gate, N signaled Touko to separate from him. There were Plasma grunts. They were assaulting an old man. She walked up.

“Leave him alone.”

“Stay out of it girl! Give them to us!” Touko drew her new sword, leveling it at the grunt’s chest. She backed up very quickly.

“How much do you want to bet I could end you both before you did a damn thing in your defence? I will, trust me. In fact, I’m tempted to. I don’t have positive feelings toward your little group. So, what do you say you two walk off into wherever you choose, and I won’t bother you anymore, as long as you thugs leave people and pokemon alone. Agreed?” The grunt’s face was white with fear, or at least as white as the freckled girl’s face could get with all of her sunburns.

“S-sure! I see no reason to stick around! This isn’t the last you’ll see of Team Plasm-” Touko cut her off by raising the blade to the girls throat.

“If I see you or your friend here again, I won’t be this merciful. You won’t like me when I’m angry. Trust me.” The two scurried off and the young girl sheathed her blade. The old man just looked terrified. “This thing does come in handy. Are you okay sir?”

“Yes. Thank you for helping me. H-here! Have this bike! I was going to return it, but you look like you need it more!” Touko smiled, and took the bike he had rolled over to her.

“Thank you sir. Have a good day!” She collapsed the bicycle into her bag and kept walking. She texted N that it was safe to come out, but he wanted to wait a few minutes before going. He told her to keep going into Nimbasa, and that he would meet her near the Amusement park. She shrugged and kept walking. Over caution was N’s thing. When they hung out together, they would avoid groups of people. Just in case they happened to be in Team Plasma. She sat down at a park bench and started to read her book. It wasn’t one of her raunchy ones because she knew N always asked her what she was reading. She pulled out Elpis and Zorro. Zorro jumped into her lap and Elpis looked about.

“This place is awesome!” Touko looked around, making sure there were no prying eyes about.

“It’s very colorful. And bright. Glad I have sunglasses.” She put them back on, the light starting to bother her a bit. Zorro looked up at her.

“Hey Touko, what kind of stuff do you like?”

“What do you mean?”

“N wanted to know what kind of stuff you liked. He said you liked dresses, but what else do you like?” Touko considered for a moment.

“Well, I don’t really know. Most of my life activities aren’t really something people can give you gifts for. Flying, archeology, swordplay. What exactly am I supposed to ask people for? A freaking helicopter?”

“Hmm. I guess you’re right. Well, how about money?”

“Completely unoriginal. Is there a single person on the planet who doesn’t want money? As for me specifically, I don’t have much to spend the money on for myself. I would probably end up spending it on you guys, and that pisses my mom off SO freaking much. Even when it’s Herdier. God, I can hear her voice. ‘Touko, that’s your money, not Herdier’s! Why do you not get things for yourself?’ And the worst part is, I quite frequently use the money I get and silently give it to my mom. She is always finding stuff she likes, so it just makes more sense.”

“Has she ever figured it out?”

“Nope. She doesn’t really think about it. She makes sure she has money, but as long as I give it in small chunks, she probably won’t ever notice.” Elpis turned back to Touko.

“Touko, why don’t you save the money? You seem constantly worried about money, so why not?”

“Well, money isn’t really a huge issue. It’s just that my mom always said that if she found me using my birthday money and whatnot for basics instead of just asking for help, she would be very unhappy.”

“Unhappy?”

“She’s scary when she’s angry. Trust me. You may not have met her in person, and even when you do, she’ll seem like what she is. A happy go-lucky woman from Sinnoh. Piss her off, and she’ll make what I was like with N look like I was snuggling with him. Trust me, bad idea.”

“Have you ever made her that angry?”

“Once. I wouldn’t ask for help when I needed school supplies, but since it was winter, she caught me walking around, shoveling driveways for a few dollars so I could afford the things I needed. She was fine with me working of course, but she was not fine with me doing it when it was cold enough to kill me in a few hours of direct exposure. She really doesn’t like it when I don’t ask for help with things I need. Another thing I suck at.”

“How would she react if she found out you’ve been slipping her money for what I assume has been years? I don’t think she would take it well, would she?”

“She’d probably never stop lecturing me in that voice that moms have. My dad can’t pull it off, but she has that voice that makes you feel bad for doing whatever. Guilt tripping happens with her in massive amounts. Never to get you to do something for her though. More like for yourself.”

“So if she could understand us, we could tell her you don’t eat enough sometimes, and you would start.”

“Which is why I’m glad you can’t talk to her.” Zorro chuckled.

“Sure we can! Not like we do with you or N, but we totally can! Just give us some time to figure it out! We’re crafty!”

“So you are. I’d still rather you didn’t do that. Not like I’m anorexic or anything. I just can’t carry much food. When we’re in town, I eat plenty. Just when we aren’t, I worry about not having enough food for all of us.”

“Even still, you need to eat! If that means we have to carry some food with us, oh well! I’m sure Aurora and Shell would agree with me.”

“Fine, fine. Next time we eat out at camp, I’ll be sure to eat enough, okay?” She considered it for a minute. “Actually, where were we going? We might have to make some stops. I think we were headed to some tower to meet a dragon of some type. Reshiram. One of the Unova Legendary Dragons. Question is, where did Aurora say we were meeting it?” She contemplated for a minute, unsure of tons of things. She stopped when she noticed N walk up, hands behind his back.

“Sorry I took so long. I noticed something I needed to get.”

“What was it?” He pulled his hands out from behind his back and handed her an Eevee doll. She squealed in excitement.

“Here. You said something about liking Eevees the other day. I figured you would like this. Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it! Come here!” She grabbed Zorro with one arm and Elpis held on tight as Touko jumped up to kiss N. It clearly surprised the young man, but he was fine with it. When she backed up from the kiss, something caught her eye. She glared at a man walking across the way. A man was walking with some other guy. He had black hair, silver rings, and his skin looked orange from the amount of spray tan on his skin. “That fucker. Zorro, do you mind going into your pokeball for a second?” Zorro understood. He went into his ball as confusion filled N’s face.

“Touko?”

“When I found Zorro, he was injured in the woods. That guy abandoned him. People like him are the reason any part of your ideal could be construed as necessary.” N’s eyes narrowed.

“I see. Do me a favor and stay right here.” He walked about 50 feet before the man randomly started yelling. He challenged a young boy to battle. Touko sprang up.

“Leave him alone!”

“Stay the hell out of it! Do you know who I am?” Touko’s glare was frightening.

“A pokemon abusing nobody!”

“Get a load of this whore! How much do I have to pay for you to suck me? I like when girls have an attitude!”

“Sorry, I already have a boyfriend. Besides, I don’t want to sleep with someone who has no chance to please me.”

“Oh, it’s on girly!”

“Okay, how about a little wager?” He licked his lips.

“What are your terms?”

“We’ll have a battle. If I win, you’ll give me all of your pokemon and stop your trainer career.”

“And if I win, I’ll get a mask and you’ll get fucked in public. It’ll ruin you.”

“Deal.”

“Ha! This is gonna be fun! Hey Ned, go get me a mask!” The guy he was with ran off, looking for one. “C’mon slutty girl, get ready to get pregnant!” She grabbed her pokeball, and let out Shell. She knew he was good enough to beat Cilan, but that didn’t mean much. After all, Cheren had beaten a leader of similar skill, and on his first try no less. _Cheren_. The guy whose pokemon didn’t even really know how to fight alongside his trainer. He was a decent trainer, but not really a great one. This guy got stuck there for weeks. He sent out an onix, probably brought in from Kanto. She smiled.

“Shell, use water gun!” The high intensity stream slammed into the Rock/Ground type and caused it to double back. It was down for the count, immediately landing on the ground.

“What? Onix, get up you stupid snake!” Touko started to get pissed off. She wasn’t in the mood for this man’s bullshit.

“Well? I’m waiting! Throw out your next pokemon!” He obliged, throwing out a Kadabra. She threw out Zorro. Zorro narrowed his eyes and growled.

“Zorro, use Shadow ball!” It slammed into the Kadabra’s chest and slammed him to the ground. No orders had been given by her opposition. Touko was full blown angry now. “Are you just such a shitty trainer that you aren’t even telling your pokemon to dodge?!” The child behind her was in awe. He didn’t think the girl who had stepped up to defend him would have been so strong. He saw this guy fight at the gym, and he seemed really powerful, but this girl was just wiping his team across the floor. Finally, he threw out his last pokemon and Touko right about lost it. It was a Mew. It didn’t look happy like Mews normally did. It looked sad. “THAT’S IT!” She sent out Aurora. “IF YOU’RE GONNA SHIP IN MEW BECAUSE YOU COULDN’T GET PAST ONE GYM, YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BE A TRAINER! PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE THE REASON PEOPLE LIKE US HAVE TO DEAL WITH PLASMA! AURORA, SHEER COLD!” The blast of air hit the pokemon and it fell to the ground. It didn’t hurt, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant. Very rarely did Aurora use that move, and only when Touko deemed it necessary. She obviously didn’t want to hurt the Mew. She walked over and picked the Mew up, cradling it in her arms. She turned toward the man. “Pokemon. Now.” She held her hand out.

“Wait, let’s be reasonable now-”

“NOW!” He handed her the belt of pokemon and she brought them all to the pokecenter, where she healed them. When she got out, she released the mechanisms on all of the pokeballs. “Heya guys. All of you guys are from Kanto, but are currently in Unova. In a few days, I’m gonna give you to my mom. She’ll bring you to a guy named Red. He’ll know where all of you should go. Especially you Mew. In fact, he might have a friend of yours. Possibly even your child.”

“What?”

“I said possibly. He used to be a Mew, but some experiments turned him into Mewtwo. My friend befriended him, and now Mewtwo is with him. When you get there, it’ll all make more sense.” They all nodded and she put them into their pokeballs. She put them in her bag and walked over to N.

“It seems as though you pulled a Team Plasma.”

“Yes, well. Mews are normally very happy, this one looked depressed. It doesn’t help that none of them wanted to fight. Of the hundreds of trainers I’ve fought, he’s the only one like that I’ve seen. When my mom gets here, she’ll take them back to Kanto. In the meantime, what do you want to do?”

“It seems someone wishes to speak to you.” Touko turned to see the young boy.

“Umm. I wanted to say thanks. I thought he was cool, but he turned out to be super mean.”

“No problem. I had a personnel issue with him anyway, so It was bound to happen eventually. Besides, it looked like you needed a hand.”

“I’m not really a strong trainer. My pokemon doesn’t really like fighting, so I don’t. We just like to watch others go at it.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Strong doesn’t necessarily mean great at battling. My friend here doesn’t battle if he can avoid it. He just enjoys being around his pokemon. He’s the strongest person I know!” The kid smiled, obviously happy that there was someone kind of like him. He ran off and Touko locked hands with N. They walked off and looked around the city, eager to put the excitement. 

Over the next hours they made it to three stores, made it to the top of 6 high rises and went to the amusement park. As they were entering, N gazed at the ferris wheel. Touko noticed his hateful expression.

“Not a fan of this place? We can skip it if you want.”

“No. It isn’t that. This was the place I figured I would tell you about me being… what I am. I thought it would be so simple, and that I could convince you of how wrong you were. I’m almost ashamed to admit it.”

“We have different ideologies. It’s okay. If I hated you for it, we wouldn’t be dating. I know it isn’t exactly the most orthedox thing ever, but why should that matter? Even if we can’t show it to the outside world, we are together.” He smiled softly.

“I know. I wanted to force you to agree with me though. You and I can do this because we accept our differences as part of our relationship. My thought process on that was to make us the same. To convince you in totality that your ideal wasn’t worth having. It makes me feel sick to think that I would have tried to force that on you.” She stopped, giving N a tight hug.

“Maybe that was the plan, but when we exist like we do, we make bad choices. If a person feels strongly about something, which you certainly do, I could see why they would choose to do something like that. It doesn’t make it okay, but in the end that’s not what matters. What matters is you didn’t do that. That you chose to accept me even if you disagree with me.” He teared up slightly. He wasn’t expecting her to react so kindly to what he had said. Had it been anyone else, they probably would have turned their backs on him. Instead she embraced him. She pulled back, looking up at him. “Do you understand?”

“Yes. Thank you.” She smiled before softly grabbing his hand and heading over to the Ferris wheel.

“Instead of being in there as enemies, we’ll be there as lovers! Come on!” They got in line and waited. They got in the last open car and headed up. She scooted close to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder Darkness had fallen, but the city was beautiful. It was amazing to see from the height of the ride. Nothing could be more beautiful than Touko to N however, and she made the city go from impressive, to magical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, I did make that guy have no redeemable character traits. How could you tell?


	15. Ideals, New and Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko's mom decides to... ask some questions about Touko's activities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter!

Ms White was flying on her Braviary, straight to Nimbasa. She saw Touko sitting in a pavilion and landed next to her. She was wearing a nice shirt that reminded her mother of a dress. It was white, probably because the heat would have been a little much. Touko smiled at her mother and gave her a hug.

“Hey mom.”

“Are you ready to go to the musical?”

“Actually, I have something to ask of you first. Can you bring these with you and ask Red to set them free in Kanto? None of them want to be here, and so they shouldn’t be.” Her mom took the pokeballs with a nod, putting them in her bag. Touko smiled and the two walked toward the theater.

“So, why did your boyfriend not want to come?”

“He’s a little unsure about meeting you.”

“Why? I don’t bite!”

“I know mom. He’s just a little shy. Don’t worry, he’ll meet you eventually, just not today.” Touko’s mom chuckled a little.

“So, did you already get us tickets, or are we going into the ticket booth section?”

“I got us some tickets. We got the best seats too!”

“You spent for VIP seats?”

“Uh, yeah. Why wouldn’t I? Not gonna let you sit in the super uncomfy seats!” They grabbed their popcorn and sat down. The entire play was based on a comedy about 3 brothers, played by a Gyrados, a Pidgey, and a Pikachu. It was entertaining to watch, and Touko did enjoy it, even if the Pikachu terrified her. She found it especially funny that the two tiny pokemon were doing things to the Gyrados, and it would just kind of act like it had lost its balance, since he could fly. When the two finished, they walked out and looked around.

“So, do you want to go shopping?”

“Yeah! Let’s do that! That sounds like fun, and I need to get one of those roses!”

“The rainbow roses?”

“Yeah! Your dad loves those things!”

“I don’t get why. They are far too colorful. Multi colored roses are nice, but they don’t go too far.”

“Oh, by the way, was cleaning your room up a little and I found some things…”

“Mom! My room was completely clean! Why did you go through it?”

“Why did you have so many sex toys?” She said it in whisper, and the entire conversation stayed like that.

“Mom, we’re in public! Why do you have so many? It’s for variety!”

“How did you know I had some?”

“Some? You have two drawers full of them! Besides, how do you think I found out about the wonderful world of sex? I’ll give you a hint. Her name is Vanessa White, she’s 44, is a native to Sinnoh, and is still somehow naive enough to think her 17 year old daughter isn’t masturbating. Can you guess who they are?”

“Yes, I think so. Have you ever seen me, uh, go at it?”

“Mom, I have seen much worse. Like that threesome you had with dad and the professor. God, that was weird. Especially knowing why she gave me the day off.”

“You saw that?!”

“Mom, I didn’t just see it. If you don’t want answers, don’t ask.”

“So you did it to your parents fucking your boss?! What the hell?!”

“Exactly. This is why you don’t leave the door unlocked. I was gonna go ask about going to the park. Not exactly what happened, but it was just as fun.”

“You said you were limping because you hit your leg!”

“Well, what did you want me to say? I got bored watching you do it, so I decided to go into my room and have some fun? Besides, if I had said that, it would have led to the toys, which would have led to the magazines, which would have led to-”

“The magazines?! You have porn?!”

“Uh, yeah. I actually have some in my bag right now. Did you want to see it, or are you okay without seeing it? It is very graphic stuff, so I personally wouldn’t read it in public.”

“Young lady, it is unacceptable to have pornography in my house! The toys are one thing, but that is completely different!”

“Not really. I mean, one is something I can use as a base, and the other is something I can use to put myself into the fantasy. The only difference between them is I’m not shoving a magazine up my crotch. Wow, the longer this conversation goes on, the more awkward it gets.”

“Good! Maybe you’ll think about throwing those magazines away when you get back!”

“Magazines? Sure. They have some models and stuff in ‘em. The graphic novels and manga though? That is where the majority of the fun is! Wow I really need to stop talking!”

“Graphic novels! Where did you get those pray tell?!”

“The magic manga store?”

“Touko, where did you get them?” Her tone was serious.

“Fine. I got ‘em from that shop in Accumula that I’d go to after school.” She sighed. “I don’t get what’s so wrong with it though! If I enjoy it, what’s the big deal?”

“Would your father approve?”

“It isn’t his damn business if I have that stuff! It really isn’t your business either! If I do it and I’m not disturbing anyone, who cares? Not like you can say you’re innocent!” Her mother paused.

“Have you, uh, done it with your boyfriend?”

“Mom, why are you asking about my sex life? Again, not your business. Besides, we’re in public. Why do we have to do this now?”

“Because I’m concerned. If he forced you into it, you might have had no choice.”

“Mom, he isn’t like that. He respects me. He’s okay with me being who I am and what I am. He’s a little naive, but he’s genuinely a great guy. He isn’t doing anything wrong, and we have an actual relationship where we communicate and compromise. He helps me through things when I struggle, and he deals with the nightmares I sometimes wake him up because of. He is great physically, but that isn’t why we’re together. We’re together because of genuine curiosity that sprouted into feelings for each other. He enjoys being around me, and he likes the way I look. No snide remarks, no judgemental looks, just someone who looks out for me that I can look out for right back.”

“Wow, that was a small tangent. Should we just drop the subject?”

“Yeah, and stay the hell out of my room. If you have no reason to be in there, stay out. I get you want to protect me, but there is a line of acceptable and not acceptable.” The two went shopping, finding quite a few things. Touko didn’t get much, just a few small things. Her mother got tons though. She didn’t have to worry about space like Touko did. While Touko was waiting for her mother to finish checking out, she pulled out Elpis and sat down.

“Hey Touko! Where’s your mom?”

“She’s checking out. Would you be okay with tacos for dinner?”

“Sure! Does everyone else like tacos?”

“Aurora likes anything that isn’t bitter, Shell is fine with everything but sour and spicy, and Zorro will eat most anything. He’s always hungry.”

“Well, I want to try ‘tacos’ if we are happening to get them. I want to try tons of stuff whenever I can!” Touko’s mom walked up.

“You don’t normally talk to them in public. Gotten braver?”

“Yep. My boyfriend says I need to be open about the gift. I was a little scared at first, but after the professor didn’t flip, I figured I might as well just go with it.”

“You’re dad is gonna be so happy! He’s always saying you should stop hiding!”

“Yeah. Hey, you’re leaving in two weeks right?”

“Actually, it got pushed ahead further. Cheaper to go in about 5 days. Why?” Touko’s heart kinda sank. She wanted her mother to be there if she really did make it to the stage.

“Oh, I was just wondering. You should say hi to dad and Red for me! I have places I need to go, so I can’t make it back home in time.”

“Yeah. You should try to convince your boyfriend to come visit! It’ll be fun!” Touko smiled and got up, Elpis climbing onto the rising girl’s shoulder as she moved.

“Maybe. Anyway, we need to go get dinner, so enjoy the ride home! Text me when you get back!” They hugged and Touko walked out of the store, heading to the taco stand that stood nearby. Ms White jumped on Braviary, and Touko waved and yelled. “And stay the hell out of my room!”

“Okay! Call me before I head out to Johto!” Touko gave her a thumbs up and Ms White flew off back toward Nuvema town. Elpis hung off Touko’s hat.

“Whatever you did really made her angry!”

“Good! She shouldn’t have been digging through my stuff!”

“What exactly did she find?”

“Some… things. Just leave it at that please. Anyway, do you want hard or soft shelled tacos? N said he got us a hotel room, and I already know what everyone else wants.”

“Soft I guess. What are you two gonna be doing this evening?”

“Don’t know. Frankly, we might just hang out. Not like we don’t have a couple of weeks.”

“Didn’t Aurora say something about when we got to Nimbasa? Don’t you think we should go as soon as possible?”

“No. I’m not gonna put my life on hold anymore. I’ve already told Aurora, and I assume he’s talked to whatever it is we’re meeting.”

“Didn’t he say it was called Reshiram? What’s a Reshiram?”

“Not what. Who. Reshiram is one of the legendary dragons that destroyed Unova by the first hero’s command. Not really sure why, but who knows.” Elpis jumped down onto Touko’s shoulder.

“Burned it down? I didn’t think you did fire well.”

“I don’t. Aurora says it is important though, so I guess I’m just gonna have to try to go through with it. Aurora wouldn’t have us do this lightly.”

“I guess. Does N know yet?”

“That we’re leaving? Yeah. I haven’t told him much else because he might consider it a bit too dangerous for me to go by myself.” She walked up to the taco stand and ordered their food. 

“Are you also hiding it because of who he works with?”

“Nope. N wouldn’t tell them. He knows it wouldn’t end well, and he probably doesn’t want to see me get hurt or half of his people get slaughtered. Either way, it wouldn’t end well. For anyone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. His ideal is the most important thing in the world to him, but I doubt he would try to hurt me to achieve it. I hope he won't anyway. I mean, he might see it as necessary, but I really hope he won’t…” Her voice trailed off as sadness filled her.

‘Is his ideal that important to him? He doesn’t mind hurting the whole of Unova, and he doesn’t mind hurting tons of pokemon. What would he care if his girlfriend got caught in the crossfire? I know he would leave me if it meant his ideal would be fulfilled, but would he order his men to kill me over it?’ Tears streamed down her face. The thought was painful, but she knew it was definitely yes. She may have been important to him. She may have been a great friend and his first human one. None of it mattered. She knew that in the end, if she got too far in the way, he might not even blink before having her killed. She just wondered where that line was and how soon it would come. She tipped her hat down to hide her face and walked into the hotel room. She put the food on the counter and went to go lay down. She didn’t even say hi to N or Zoroark. She just walked into the bedroom after letting everyone out to eat. She curled up in a ball in the dark room and cried. Everyone just sat there, confused.

“Elpis, what happened?”

“Well, we were getting tacos, then we were discussing our upcoming trip, then something got brought up, and then she got real quiet and started to cry. I was about to ask her until she tipped her hat down.” Zorro hopped up on top of the couch.

“What got brought up?”

“I don’t think I should say…” Shell jumped from the window cill, landing on his feet.

“Elpis, just tell us. We need to know if we’re gonna help her!” Elpis sighed.

“It was about N.” Zoroark’s eyes narrowed.

“What was it?”

“Well I wanted to know why she hadn’t told N the very little she knows about the trip, and it pulled up stuff about your ideals. She seemed to start questioning how far you would go to carry them out. If you would order her to be hurt or killed because she got in the way. I assume so anyway. When she started crying, she looked to be… almost expecting it?” N was just really confused.

“But I would never!”

“Maybe not. She seems to think that you would though.”

“Why would she think that?”

“Well, she sees herself as just another person. She may be your friend and all but still just another person. Your ideal of separating people and pokemon from each other means hurting a ton of pokemon, who are your dearest friends. If she gets in the way she figures that she’ll be hurt or killed because if you’re willing to ruin the lives of all of the trainers and their pokemon that you claim to be helping, why wouldn’t you just kill her and be done with it?”

“I don’t want to hurt Touko though, I just want to help my friends!” Even as he said it, he knew he didn’t believe he was helping anyone. He was just lying to himself.

“N, you’re delusional! She’s terrified! She knows that eventually, you’ll start doing work on the most important thing in the world to you! When she tries to stop you, she’ll just be an enemy like every other!” N sat, silent for a minute.

“What makes you say that is the most important thing in the world to me?” Elpis looked a little crazy.

“Why wouldn’t I?! Even Touko, who you are dating, a person that views you as a huge part of her life, knows that if you had to choose between her and that, you would choose your ideal every time! She accepts it! She is gonna fight it, but she seems to wonder if it’s gonna end up destroying her! You weren’t there to see the hopelessness on her face! Do you think I like seeing that? To see my trainer, my friend in absolute misery? To see her in the worst cache 22 ever? She hates your stupid, ridiculous, ignorant ideal! Even Zoroark hates it! Aurora thinks it’s the dumbest thing ever, and Aurora is one of the smartest beings in existence! Yet here you are, making Touko slowly give up on every hope she has for the future! Just because you couldn’t be bothered to look into it and figure out that people and pokemon truly shouldn’t be separated! Despite how smart Touko says you are, you might well be the stupidest person I’ve ever met! Zorro’s old trainer was a jerk, but you? You endeavor to make the girl that adores you suffer along with the whole of Unova, just because you think you’re right! Because your calculations say ‘abuse rates will drop to zero if there are no trainers to abuse their pokemon’ and so that gives you the right to do all of this? You’re tearing her apart! You may be helping her now but eventually, you’ll be doing just as much damage as everyone else!” The room was silent. The Minccino was yelling, screaming really. The point was getting across exceptionally well. N looked to Zoroark for advice.

“Why are you looking at me? I agree with every word that just came out of fuzzy’s mouth! Finally, one of y’all stood up. Was wondering if I would have to do it for you.” Zoroark licked his arm, cleaning the fur. “If I were you, I’d start thinking real hard about your priorities. You have a girl you are smitten with, and you’re making her think she’s less important to you than that dumbass ideal! She’s alone in that room, still crying. Go comfort her.” Elpis glared at N.

“Not like lying to her is gonna fix it. If you’re gonna tell her something, at least tell her the truth. You saying she’s more important to you than your ‘new world’ is a blatant lie.” N looked back at Elpis. He got up and moved to the window, thinking of words that would aptly describe it.

“My ideal _is_ the most important thing in the world to me. Bar none. My ideal, however, is no longer to free pokemon. My ideal is now to be with Touko. My old ideal was one based on lies. I have seen so much, I understood so little. I do not have all of the answers, but in the end, I do not care. The ideal of my past was based on my father’s lies. It was based on his grab for power. Should he decide to try and stop me, all the better. He cannot stand to me. His pokemon have sworn loyalty to me, only keeping near him to hide that fact. He will be left holding nothing. If that means I have wasted my years since I was twelve, so be it.” He turned toward the pokemon in the room. All 5 sat in silence, staring at him. “That is my ideal. Not some fallacy in logic. I have been shown the error in my ways. The river, the desert road, the bad trainers being confronted by ones noble and true. Now, I have work to do. If you’ll excuse me.” He walked past them all and went into the room. All of the pokemon sat for a minute. Silence filled the room. Zoroark smiled.

“Hey Aurora! Mission accomplished!”

“So it seems. I thought you said that would be harder.”

“I thought it would be! Looks like after the first one, we only needed to let nature take its course!” Shell just looked at them.

“This was all part of a plan?! Elpis, you’re a great actor!” The Minccino looked confused.

“Plan? What plan?”

“We wanted to make N see the error in his ways! That river clean up we did? Aurora suggested that! We knew it would start getting to him eventually, just didn’t think it would be so soon!”

“Well, if he is truthful, which he seems to be, we have fixed a blooming relationship problem. It will be nice to see Touko unwound totally from that issue.”

“Yeah! Hey, do you think she’ll make some coffee in the morning if we ask her to?” Aurora made a face.

“You truly enjoy that wretched drink? I will never understand you or Touko!”

“You know it! Anyway, we’ll probably be up late tonight! We have a small party to throw for Elpis here! Confronting N, now that is party worthy!” The group of pokemon laughed and started playing around. Zorro and Shell started messing around, pulling poses. Elpis swung up Aurora’s leg and up to the top of the rhombus on its head. Zoroark eventually joined the fun with Zorro and Shell, after much asking from the two. Aurora and Elpis were giving scores based on performance. Shell was getting 10s for balance, Zorro was scoring very high in the variety of what he was doing, and Zoroark was just demolishing them. He had been dancing alongside N since he was still a Zorua. He found it to be a great deal of fun to strike poses for an ancient legendary and a flying squirrel.

N opened the door, softly entering the room. He could hear Touko’s crying. He couldn’t see her because the light was off, but he figured she wanted it that way. He sat down next to the balled up girl.

“You do realize that when you brought food, you were supposed to eat too, right?” She sniffled.

“Not hungry.”

“I see. Well, how about we try this. Why do you think I would in any way try to hurt you? That seems like the kind of thing a bad significant other would do. I like to think I’m at least passable.”

“It isn’t that. It’s just that I know that eventually, you’ll have to choose. Between your ideal, and me. I already know what you’re going to choose. I will fight it, and when I get in the way, you’ll have me killed. I won’t stop until either I win, or I’m dead. There’s no convincing you that what you’re doing is wrong, but I won’t stand back either. You’ll treat me like any enemy. You’ll have no choice but to execute me.”

“That seems quite extreme. What makes you think I would go that far?”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill everyone who stands in my way. I can’t kill you though. The thought makes me want to throw up. Eventually, it would come to a draw. It’ll end with either you giving up, which you never will, or you killing me. I find the second to be more likely. I just hope when you do it, you try not to make it hurt. I don’t want to be in pain when I go.” N sighed.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I won’t let anyone else hurt you either. You won’t die, and you won’t be put through any pain by anyone.”

“But I’m going to stand against you. If your goal is to be the King of Unova, you’ll have no choice. Your ideal is the most important thing in the world to you. Not me. In the end, you’ll have to protect it, and even if you won’t, your father will. He’ll send that triad after me, or after my mom. Your ideal is-”

“Not quite what you think. My ideal has changed. I have realized my mistake. I refuse to see it through. It was based on lies. Not on facts. Over the past weeks, you have shown me that many people are truly compassionate about pokemon. The people at the river, the trainers who protect abused pokemon, those that honor pokemon for what they do. I have a new ideal now.”

“And what is it? Another project you had shoved afterwards that old one?” Her voice was sad, hopeless, and that was scary to N. She was always so upbeat about everything. To see her like this was scarier than most anything else. He wrapped his arm around her.

“Well you see, there is this girl. Her name is Touko White. We met when I helped her not get assaulted by my Father. She’s got poofy hair, she can talk to her pokemon like she can talk to people, her guardian is a legendary that she’s known since she was in grade school, and she’s the nicest person in existence. Her birthday is on February 19th, and her favorite color happens to be my hair color. She’s fond of feeling like her mouth has a lit match in it despite hating fire, and she’s headed off in a couple of weeks to do something important. She embodies beauty and passion. I assume you know her.”

“Yeah, but she would beg to differ on the beautiful part.”

“Well, ignorance is something I apparently share with her. Despite her obsession with thinking she’s the ugliest person alive, she is beautiful. Inside and out. She is my new ideal. To be with her for life. To treat her like she deserves despite us being of totally different situations in life.” She stopped for a minute. She couldn’t believe it.

“Really? You based your whole ideal on… being with me?” Her voice was filled with hope.

“Yes. Ideals are what we truly believe in. For me, an ideal world is one where I can stand by your side.” She smiled, tears streaming down her face. He adjusted so she was sitting in front of him. He put his hand on her cheek. “I will always be by your side. Plasma cannot stop me.” He kissed her forehead, and she laid her head onto his hand. She was obviously happy, if not a little shaken. She was still crying though. They didn’t seem like tears of joy, so N decided to make them into tears of joy. He knew Touko was ticklish, discovering on accident when he had brushed her neck. He retracted his hand, and she cocked her head at him. He was still on his knees, but he assumed a sort of ‘I’m gonna get you!’ stance that made Touko realize what he was doing. Before she could say anything, he started and she burst out into laughter. She ended up laughing hard enough that he had to stop because she started coughing. When she recovered, the two went out of the room to eat. Aurora was sitting in the small living area, reading a book it had found on the shelf. Presumably a cookbook. The others were sitting around the large pokemon, deciding on what sounded good to make.

“I think we should make that one!”

“We don’t have fresh fruit!”

“And it takes way too much stuff!”

“How much could it possibly need?”

“Zorro, it takes more butter to make that than you’d physically be able to eat in an hour.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“I don’t think Touko wants that mess. She isn’t a huge fan of vomit.”

“Geez Aurora, gotta be a killjoy?”

“Yes. It keeps you lot from burning cities down.”

“Hey guys, look! They’ve emerged!” Touko blinked and rubbed her eyes.

“Why is it so bright in here? Like the sun got a lot closer.”

“We were deciding on a recipe for a cake! What kind of cake do you two like?” N thought for a second.

“I like chocolate cake. How about you Touko?”

“I prefer vanilla personally, but chocolate isn’t bad.” They sat down and looked at the cookbook. Eventually, Touko yawned and decided to go to bed. N went with her and they left the pokemon to their own devices. They got stuff together and quietly made a cake, half chocolate, and half vanilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll hopefully update this more regularly. I've been working on some other FWS stories that I've got. Sorry for making you guys wait!


	16. Were It Only So Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bianca meets someone special, and Cheren has a strange dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter! Very short chapter! I considered combining this and the last one, or this one and the next one. But I wanted there to be a chapter about Bianca specifically! Even if its... 5 1/2 pages long. Okay, so maybe I could've made it longer. Oh well!

**5 Weeks Later**

Bianca woke up at 7:30. She didn’t really want to, but the boarding school mandated it. She had been very tired for several weeks. She went to bed right after spending time with her Tepig. She had her own room, but that was about it. It was a little box with a desk and a bed in it. She had classes and then she had schoolwork that she was given to do on her own. She was miserable in the mornings, and she was taunted quite often. This was about her sixth week here, meaning she was a little bit over a third of the way done. She missed Touko and Cheren. Touko. She had really screwed that one up.

“Geez Bianca. What were you thinking? I figured that would make her like me more. That maybe that activity we did would be like all those mangas I read. Where the two fall in love after doing it. Now, here I am. Down a friend because I was so busy being mean to make her want me, that I forgot to actually be there for her. Ironic. Funny thing is, Touko is the best person I’ve ever met, and I treated her like she was disposable. Anyway, I heard there was gonna be a new girl on campus today. I wonder if the jocks will constantly make passes on her like they do to me and like half the other girls on campus. They’ll probably make her introduce herself like they made me. That was so freaking awkward.” She pulled out her Tepig and got ready for the day. She put on her uniform, grabbed her glasses, and walked out of the room with her Tepig. The halls were always eerily quiet this early. Most everyone was up, but she was one of the very few that had to go out and about. She had a job on campus. She wanted to have money on hand just in case she needed it. Her parents had paid for her uniform, but everything else was up to her. She didn’t ever eat in the uniform. Only when she got back to the dorms. She always worried she would spill something on it. She thought about her plan for the day when she heard a voice behind her. A girl with dark skin ran up to her.

“Hello ma’am, would you please help me find the uniform repair place? I’m new, so I don’t know where it is and I don’t want to be late!”

“Sure! That’s where I work, so I’d be happy to show it to you!”

“Thank you so much! I thought I would be late for sure!” They passed by the school’s mascot, a depiction of Zapdos. 

“So, what’s your name?”

“Iris! What’s yours? Actually wait! Let me guess! Hmm. You look like a… Bianca!”

“You read my nametag didn’t you?”

“Yep! Why do you have a beret on?”

“Unovan thing.”

“I’m from Unova too! Why are you here?”

“I hurt my friend. I’m not proud of it.”

“Oh. Well, as long as you’re sorry, it’ll be okay!”

“No. This’ll take many years to heal much.”

“Oh. Did you uh, rape her?” She whispered the last part, but Bianca froze. This girl just guessed it first try. “I see. Well, your secret is safe with me! I’m here because my mentor wanted me to deal with it! Said that I needed to toughen up!” Bianca and Iris continued, awkwardness in the air. They entered the workshop and Bianca took her normal position. She was surprised when Iris chose the one next to hers to be at. This girl must have been really good at second chances. They continued, working their shifts and then heading back to the dorms. Iris asked if she could visit later, and the answer was a very fast yes. She laid down after undressing. She was in nothing but her undergarments, sleeping, waiting till afternoon classes started. She awoke hours later when Iris burst into her room.

“Whoa, whoa! You can’t just do that!”

“Sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t think to knock!” She looked Bianca up and down. “You’re good looking! How often do the guys bother you?”

“All the time. I don’t think they get the whole ‘Lesbian Girl’ deal. They constantly bug me.”

“Wait, you’re a lesbian?!”

“Sorry if you don’t like people like me. I know, not natural.”

“No, no! I’m like you! You are incredibly sexy!” Bianca blushed

“Thanks! Hey, what time is it?”

“11:00. Why?”

“Afternoon classes. They start at 1.”

“Oh. Sorry. Did you want me to leave?”

“Nah. Did you want to talk?”

“Yeah!” She sat down, eyes on Bianca butt. Bianca could feel her eyes but didn’t mind so much. She got into normal clothes and sat down on the bed.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I was wondering about all of this stuff. The school and whatnot.”

“Don’t break the rules. The ‘bad girls’ and ‘bad boys’ get thrown out. Besides that, show up to your classes. The teachers don’t appreciate people being late. Never talk to the jocks because-” There was a knock at the door.

“Hey Bianca! Hey new girl! Come on out! We’re gonna have some fun!” She turned to Iris.

“That Iris, should not need explaining.” She turned back to the man. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m lesbian? I screw girls, not guys.” She closed the door and walked away. “There’s a sort of black market. The entire faculty is in on it. If you want some more… sensitive items, you get them there. Otherwise, there is a store in the lobby area.” She looked at the clock. “Oh, and you don’t want to be wandering the halls after morning classes. You might stumble into a gangbang or the like.”

“I thought you said this place was strict!”

“It is. Those are usually teachers having sex with students. The younger, hot blooded ones that is. If a teacher offers it to you, you tell no one. They’ll give you favors in exchange for some action. As someone who has sewn together sheets, be glad you didn’t have that job. Those guys must be constantly doing it.”

“Why?!”

“There is nothing else to do. If you want to have parties and keep up with the work, you have to reduce the work you have. Knocking up a teacher or getting knocked up by one does just that. There’s a reason people that go here don’t talk about it much. It isn’t like the entire staff does it. Only some of the horny women and a couple of the older men. Other than that, it’s just students being so close. Either way, at least once a week, someone does it in the halls. Usually one of the ‘big three’ guys. They’re renowned for their idiocy.”

“Goodness!” They chatted for several minutes before Bianca had to get ready to leave. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Bianca walked into her english class, ready to start the actual school day. The instructor walked in and started doing her thing. Over several hours of work, Bianca went through her classes. She thought about Touko a lot. Touko was very smart, and she very often wrote entire papers with great quality in the same time it would take for a normal person to write a single page. She was always looking for something to do in almost all of her classes. In english, she would just read the dictionary, in math, she studied for the next tests, in history, she ended up being the secondary teacher, because she had so much knowledge about the topics, and in science, she would end up finishing her labs early enough that she could do entire other ones. Bianca knew Touko didn’t excel at math or science. She did excel at other things. History and English were easily her most boring classes because she already knew all of that stuff. For her other classes, she was just super focused. She tried to be anyway. She was easy to distract. She also fidgeted quite a lot. Bianca wasn’t sure, but she always figured it was when Touko was thinking about whatever had given her those burn marks on her legs. Whenever the teacher called her out of it, or when a loud noise was made, she would flinch. She said it was fine, but no one really ever believed her. Everyone was kind of on the same page with Touko. They all tried to get her attention using very horrible methods. The teachers would tell them to stop, but they never did. Bianca shook the thought.

‘Touko is doing better now. She’s away from us, she has a boyfriend, and she’s gotten 3 badges. I need to send that letter.’ She continued the work and went back to her dorm. She wrote her usual letter, but decided to write one more. It was to Ms White. She was under specific instruction not to talk to Touko. She wasn’t sure until when, but she was sure not for a bit. She sealed the two letters and walked down to the mailing area. She was in normal clothes, but since she was off it didn’t much matter. She had a small tune stuck in her head, one that Tepig often whistled. She wasn’t sure where he learned to do that but she found it funny. Her Tepig never left her side. She would occasionally battle the other students, and would most often win. The three pokemon she had, a Tepig, a Pansage, and a Munna, were good enough to get through most things. She mailed the letters and went to bed, knowing she had tests the next day.

Cheren sat in his science class. It was filled with hyper competitive people just like him. His parents chose that school for a reason. To run him down. To show him how hard it was to work with people that just took competition too far. He and Bianca talked regularly, usually on weekends where their same regioned schools gave time to visit people. Those were the only breaks he allowed himself. He had battled against Bianca twice, but she had a large advantage. He had been spending time with his Snivy, and it had been working. Now he felt even worse than he had before about calling Touko stupid. She knew what she was talking about. He always figured he was getting close, but wasn’t comfortable with doing what they did. He knew it still didn’t make it right. If anything, it made it much worse. He finished his experiment, his Snivy handing him some results of the test. He sat down, exhausted. He was in the top 10 of this class, but he was still exhausted. The never ending challenge was fun, but so exhausting. He couldn’t move at his own pace. The taunting also hurt. The more time he spent here, the worse it would get. He understood how Touko felt now. When she had a bad day, she had to just keep moving. Cheren and the class had long since figured out she was thinking about whatever trauma she was dealing with. She never spoke in that class. Ever. When the teacher asked her a question, she would sign the answer. Some days she kind of just, stopped. He couldn’t remember the exact experiments, but he felt like they all had to do with electricity and heat. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it reminded her of something. He finished up before checking out of the lab, finished for the day. He went over to his apartment. His school had no housing, so he had a weekend job to pay for some housing. He laid down and started looking through his mail. His parents had barely sent anything, so it was all from Bianca. 

“We were so stupid. We deserve this. Over a third of the way done Cheren. You can do this. If Touko was here, she would say to be positive. And you, being the idiot you are, would insult her. Again. None of this was worth it. Now instead of having a great friend, you reached for her as a girlfriend. Now she’s with another guy. He apparently does right by her, which is a good thing. How are we going to mend this one? Do we walk up and be like ‘hey, sorry for being assholes to you for years. Will you forgive us?’ Were it only so simple. I wonder what the new guy is like? Well, I’d better go to sleep. Got classes in the morning.” He fell asleep, and in his dream, he saw Touko wearing a dress with the flower in her hair, like she always did. She was really nice looking. She turned toward him and held out her hand. He reached for it and passed right through her fingertips. He watched in horror as someone stepped through him, grabbed her hand, and started dancing with her. He tried to attack the man, to get him away. He could do nothing as Touko and the man danced. She looked happy. Content. Something she didn’t look like often. Not around them anyway. He kept trying to attack the man, not being able to accept his inevitable defeat. Suddenly, the dream illusions started to talk. He could only hear what Touko was saying, but he somehow knew what her partner was saying.

“Are you happy, my love?”

“Yes! This is the most fun I’ve had in quite some time!”

“Good. It is your birthday. You should enjoy yourself!” She went up and kissed him, but Cheren still couldn’t see his head. He tipped her over, kissing her affectionately. Hand on her back, her gloved hands holding where the back of his head should have been. Cheren felt jealousy build up inside himself. He wanted to be the one holding her. He wanted to be the one that Touko was willing to wrap her arms around as he kissed her. He snapped awake, anger building in his chest as his alarm rang.

“What the fuck? That was super vivid. I could actually see her! Kissing the shadow! She had gloves on! Since when does Touko wear gloves?! She was super hot, but what the actual fuck?!” He looked around. He turned off his alarm. It was Friday. Tomorrow, he would tell Bianca about this strange dream. Nightmare. It was a nightmare. He quickly sketched what he remembered the man looking like. He labeled it ‘Shadow’ and went to his classes.

When Bianca and Cheren met up, Cheren pulled out his notepad and handed it to Bianca. He had another dream like that. Nearly exactly like it, but with a few key differences. Touko had a different dress on, was wearing a ribbon around her waist, and instead of dancing, they were sitting in a banquet hall, drinking. The same things were said. The same action of him going up to her, even the fact he had once again tried to stop him. It was all the same. He had drawn pictures of the two from memory over the past two days. Their dance, the banquet, Touko’s dresses, the man’s attire.

“Someone has been busy. You should go see a doctor about this.”

“Why?”

“Doesn’t it seem a little fishy? This guy is dancing with your crush, or having dinner with her, or whatever. The point is, you’re obsessing over it. I think you need some help.”

“It bothers me. It isn’t that these are disturbing my sleep. It’s just that it bothers me that-”

“Touko is dancing with another man? We’ve known since before we left. Why is it bothering you now?”

“It bothered me then too. Just less. What should I do?”

“Well, go to a doctor. If you are having that big of an issue with it, maybe a psyche check is what you need. What do you figure he actually looks like? I bet he’s cute!”

“I think Touko described him as handsome and whatnot. My guess is he has black hair, brown eyes, and he’s about the same height as Touko.”

“But in all these sketches, he’s taller than Touko!”

“Well, I don’t have any control over what my mind procures in the moment!”

“If you did, he would look like you, wouldn’t he?”

“Uh, yeah!” Cheren took his notepad back and put it into his bag. “Anyway, what should we do about the whole ‘Touko hates us bit?’ Do we just leave it be, or what?”

“I’m not allowed to talk to her.”

“Neither am I. Suppose we could though. What would we say?”

“We’re sorry?” Cheren smiled at his friend’s naivety.

“If only it were that easy.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! This one was quick, but that's the way it goes! Have a great day!


	17. Dragon of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko goes without N to awaken the dragon who had contacted her friend. It doesn't go particularly well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Enjoy the chapter!

N sat in Castelia. He had gone back to see if he could get one of the ‘Casteliacones’ that were rumored to taste so good. It had been a week since Touko had left, but the two had talked consistently enough. He didn’t ask her where she was going exactly, but he figured it would have been the home of something powerful. Aurora wouldn’t have gone through all of the trouble otherwise. He got his ice cream, noting that it did taste pretty good. He looked at it and did some math. With the materials it would take to make this, the mark-up was quite extreme. Nearly 537%. It kind of bothered N. Yes, it was better than other ice creams. Was it worth it to be charging that much? Not really, but people still bought it because they heard it was worth it. He shook his head.

‘And I’m deceitful. At least with my deceit, it’s forgivable. They have truly committed the ultimate crime. And no one suspects a thing.’ The thoughts of the disgusting price gouge filled N’s thoughts. ‘Am I… legitimately angry about this? It is ice cream!’ Burgh walked up.

“Hey N! Long time no see!”

“It has been two weeks. Tops.”

“Longer than it could have been! I didn’t take you as a city guy!”

“I’m not. Too loud. Too many people. I’m here because a friend recommended I should get one of these.”

“Castelia’s speciality!”

“Heavily inflated prices, or the ice cream?”

“The ice cream!”

“I’m not too sure. Anyway, did you need something?”

“Yeah! I need to ask your advice on something!”

“What is that exactly?”

“I need to know if you could tell me by my pokemon’s expression whether they like the new gym ideas.”

“Or I could just tell you what they say about it.”

“What?”

“I can understand them.” They went back and forth for a few minutes, and N told him what the pokemon thought. Burgh thanked him and ran off to make changes to the blueprint. N got up from the bench where he had been sitting, and decided to go to the store. He looked around a bit. He went into the dress section, wanting to see what they had. After not being satisfied with the choices, he decided to make his way back to Nimbasa. Unova’s fashion capital. When he arrived, he made a beeline for the nearest clothing store. He walked in and looked around. When he got to the dresses, he pulled out a piece of paper. They were the measurements of Touko’s dress. He wanted to get her another dress. He had sewn up the one she had, he was bored and he knew it meant a lot to her. When she got back she was going to be super happy with it. He looked around a bit until someone with blonde hair walked up while he was surveying the dresses. He figured she would look good in just about anything, but she seemed to prefer tighter fitting dresses as opposed to a dress that would be worn at the castle balls that he hated so. That was fine with him, as he figured that way she was actually showing off. Not hiding behind some poofy thing. The girl tapped him on the shoulder.

“Are you okay sir?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes. I’m looking for a dress for my friend.”

“Would you like some help? People say I have a good eye for this sort of thing!”

“Okay. Here’s what she looks like.” He handed her a picture of Touko and her eyes widened.

“I know her! She was at that party! Is she okay?!”

“Yeah? She’s fine? Who exactly are you?”

“I’m Elesa! Electric gym leader of Unova!”

“Ah. I see. Touko said she wanted to try out for a modeling position. I guess she’s a fan.”

“I know! We met, and I considered asking her!”

“Well, she doesn’t remember much of that night. After she collapsed, she sort of just forgot everything. She said she didn’t want to do it without her mom in Unova, just in case she made it. I think she’s just scared to fail horribly.”

“Why would that be an issue? She seemed outgoing and all of that!”

“Her self confidence is like a piece of thin glass. It’s fine until it gets tested, then it shatters. She figures the modeling business has too much competition for her to get anywhere. She doesn’t even really know where to start.” He turned back to the dress.

“Hmm. Well, I’ll have to change that. I saw her and figured she looked good and seemed nice enough.”

“And how exactly did you figure the nice bit out? She is of course, but did you just glance in her general direction and think ‘she looks nice’ or what transpired there?”

“She helped a waitress when she fell. When everyone was staring at them, she told everyone to shove off.”

“I wish I could have seen it. Angry Touko is like a Zorua. Cute, but terrifying if you know what it is capable of. Anyhow, Touko needs a new dress.”

“You should get her some gloves too. They would work really well.”

“Like winter gloves?”

“No. We have gloves that go to just below a person's elbow, or just above it. They are usually black, but they come in tons of other colors. They look great on girls like her!”

“Huh. She wears gloves on occasion. I don’t think it’s for fashion though. I think she does it to hide her hands when she cuts them. Or just whenever she’s feeling self conscious about her entire body.”

“I don’t get it, why is she so ashamed of herself?”

“I don’t get it either. I spend a lot of time trying to convince her otherwise, but it’s hard to convince that stubborn girl of anything. Anyway, do you think she would like this one?”

“Yeah! Classy, but still sexy! Perfect for her!” She scurried off and came back with a pair of gloves.

“And these should match that perfectly! I look forward to seeing her in that!” She smiled and ran off, not even letting N say thank you. He was dumbfounded. She was there, then she was gone. He shook his head and went to go buy the items. When he got out, the sky was blue, and very beautiful. It made him uneasy though. He thought about Touko.

‘What if she gets hurt? I can’t help her here. Where the hell is she even going anyway? Aurora said that she couldn’t tell me, but that makes me worry more!’ He got inside the hotel room, and released Zoroark.

“I’m worried about Touko. What should I do?”

“Nothing. She has Aurora, Zorro, Shell, and Elpis with her. She’ll be fine.” N sighed before pacing some. “Do you want to help Touko out?”

“Of course!”

“The best way to do that is to take care of yourself. She’ll be physically fine. Aurora told me that even if we couldn’t come, we could still help out by being there if Touko calls.”

“Well, I’m obviously going to answer, but why that specifically?”

“Not too sure. The old geezer said something about Touko’s ‘fear coming into full bloom’ or something like that.” N sat there, connecting the dots for a few minutes. A sudden realization struck him.

“The dragons! Aurora is trying to resurrect a dragon!” He sounded excited, giddish. Zoroark was quite freaked out by this. He jumped up.

“Is the damn thing insane?! I thought we were trying to make peace!”

“We are! If the dragon communicated with Aurora, it must have chosen Touko! Do you know what that means?!”

“That Aurora is completely nuts!”

“No, it means that a good, caring person is controlling one of the dragons! It means Ghetsis and the sages will have less ways to control Unova!” He was very excited by this. If Touko was good enough at heart to control a dragon, that dragon would defend her from everything his father sent after her. Even better than Aurora maybe. He was absolutely sure that she was capable of taming the dragon. “Which one do you figure it’ll be?!”

“Well, we can eliminate Kyurem. Kyurem is the ice dragon. And Aurora said she was afraid of it. Other than that, Touko is terrified of fire and lightning. It could end up as either Reshiram or Zekrom. Still, not liking this.” N smiled at his friend. He still worried, but he allowed himself to relax a bit. He was happy that if anyone was going to command them, it would be Touko.

Meanwhile, Touko was trying not to totally lose it. They had made it to the top of the tower, and she looked around. She turned to look at Aurora, the tall beast towering over her. It walked over and nuzzled her face. Aurora knew Touko must have been absolutely terrified. She was given the stone. It was hot, and it had started to have embers shoot around her hand. She yelped and nearly dropped it. She began to feel a little light headed. She started to walk quickly toward the large opening in the area. She got there and the stone got too hot to hold. She dropped it and fell backwards, fear enveloping her as the stone ignited and the roof caught fire. She backed up, Aurora throwing her behind its body. She started hyperventilating, trying to stay calm. It wasn’t really working, and she quickly started coughing. She sat there, and as the fire worsened, she coughed harder. Eventually, she couldn’t breathe, and her throat had been so irritated that she started coughing up blood. Shell and Elpis tried to help her breathe, while Zorro tried to block her view of the fire. Eventually, Reshiram rose to its full height, roaring proudly. Aurora stepped toward it. 

“Reshiram! You are hurting her! Stop with the damned fire!” The dragon nodded and lowered its wings. The fire died down, and Touko fell to the side, blood covering the side of her face as she hit the ground. Her pokemon gathered around her. There was a significant amount of blood everywhere, her breathing was irregular, and her body was twitching. Zorro stepped up.

“We need to get her out of here! I think she has medication, but she ran out of water earlier!” Aurora looked down off the tower.

“Hmm. I could jump down.” Reshiram stepped forward.

“Or I could fly us down. Probably quite a bit safer.”

“Good idea. Everyone, back into your pokeballs!” They all got ready, and Reshiram flew off the tower, landing at a clean stream and knocking down several trees like they were nothing. Aurora released everyone from their pokeballs and Shell forced the medicine into Touko’s mouth. It took a bit to set in, but she eventually stopped coughing. The blood stopped coming up too, but streaks of crimson still ran down her face. Reshiram stayed silent. He didn’t even think about it. He was just so happy to be in the open winds again. He knew she was afraid of fire to a dangerous degree. He was very ashamed that he had not considered that. The dragon laid down next to the river, looking at the rushing water. It reminded him of his brother, Kyurem. Kyurem always loved rushing water. Swimming was probably his favorite thing to do. Once the dragons had split, they had all gained interests and knowledge separate from each other. Zekrom studied art, Reshiram became infatuated with music, and Kyurem found water to be very fun, and it was very peaceful. He was the part of the trio that embodied the original’s wish to be alone. Peace and quiet. He closed his eyes, meditating. He opened them several minutes later when he felt a small pokemon tugging at his eyelids. He opened his eyes and there were two pokemon in front of him. A Zorua and a Minccino. 

“Wake up sleepyhead! You’ve already been napping for thousands of years! Not even Touko sleeps that long!” The dragon sighed.

“I am not sleeping. It is known as meditation. You should try it sometime. You seem to need a little zen in your life.”

“Why are ya meditating? Seems like you should be excited! You have a whole world to see!”

“Last time I got excited, the new hero started choking on her own blood. She’s your master. Tell me, does she enjoy choking on her own blood? How about spitting it up and more and more coming? I think not.”

“How were you supposed to know she would react quite so badly? We should call N. She might need to go home for a bit.”

“I was told she was afraid of fire. It is that simple.”

Y’know, I don’t think she’s gonna blame you. I mean, she gets it. Not like this is the first time it’s ever happened. She was probably expecting it to happen. She still agreed to it, so it can’t be all bad. For instance, she’ll probably give you a really cool name!”

“A name? My name is Reshiram.”

“Yeah, but a different name. For instance, my name is Elpis because Touko decided I always look for people’s bright sides, no matter how dark they are. Suicune’s name is Aurora because when they met, Aurora told her that they liked being called the ‘Aurora Pokemon’ by researchers. She calls Dewott Shell because he takes pride in his shalchops. Zorro got his name because it was Touko’s favorite story and he really liked it.”

“But what is the point?”

“Well, the point is to give each of us an identity. She’ll end up asking you the same questions she asked us. Favorite food, colors, whether you are noise sensitive. All sorts of stuff!”

“An identity?”

“Yeah! To her we are unique! No matter where we come from, she makes us feel special! I’m from a family with 93 other Minccino, but Touko says none of them are quite like me, so it’s a reflection of you! Or I guess if you just really like the name! Either way!” The dragon contemplated a moment. He wasn’t really sure how this would all go down, but he was sure it would be figured out eventually. He started moving, so the two pokemon moved out of the way and he rose to full height. He walked over to Aurora and Shell, where Touko was lying. Her hair was covered in blood, but they had cleaned her face. He was shocked that no one seemed angry with him. Night had fallen, and Reshiram could just barely see Touko’s face. He looked up at the clouds. The moonlight being enveloped didn't help anything. He made a decision. 

“She needs medical attention.”

“How exactly are we supposed to get her that? She hasn’t told us her password, and we can’t speak to humans.”

“Then we find someone who can. Where do you live?”

“Nuvema town. South edge of Unova.”

“I see. I can fly us there in a few hours. It has been many years, but what happened couldn’t have been healthy. Do we happen to know any doctors?” Shell stepped up.

“Yeah. The professor. She lives in Nuvema town. Is Touko gonna be alright?”

“Yes little one. She will be fine. Come now. We must be going.” They all got into their pokeballs and Reshiram picked them up. He flew as fast as he could, landing in Nuvema a little over two hours later.

Professor Juniper was sitting in her living room, thinking about the past. She smiled at some of the pictures. Especially the ones with Touko and her parents, all of them smiling. She cherished those moments. Touko was like a daughter to her. Years ago, she found she was infertile, and her boyfriend left her. She threw herself into her work until Touko and her mother showed up. Touko eventually came over and asked to help with something because mean people were bothering her. That was the day that Touko became her lab assistant. Ever since, Touko spent more time at the lab than anywhere else. No one else really knew, and no one else really cared. It boiled her blood that everyone hurt her so much. She couldn’t do anything though. She knew it would just get worse if she did. She heard a loud sound and went to investigate.

Two days later, Touko’s eyes snapped open. She shot up, but she felt a hand on her upper chest, pressing her down. Adrenaline was rushing through her, but she relaxed at this hand. It seemed so familiar. So comforting. She looked to the side and saw why. It was N. He had a concerned look on his face. She calmed down a little and noticed just how much pain she was in. Her chest felt like it was getting crushed, and her throat felt like a match had been thrown down it. She tried to remember what had happened. Reshiram. Her eyes filled with panic.

‘Is N angry I didn’t tell him? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! He must be so angry!’

“N, I’m sorry, I should have told you! I should have-”

“Shh. You’re safe. That is all that matters. Reshiram filled me in on the details. He seems very concerned.” She sat for a second. Her fear was still very present, but it wasn’t quite consuming her head so fast.

“So you… aren’t angry at me?” He smiled.

“Of course not. I’m just glad your pokemon figured out your password so they could tell me where you lived. I’ve been worried sick for days!” Touko breathed out. She had been holding her breath, waiting to get berated. N was holding her hand, and that made her feel better. She touched her throat, tears forming from the sensation. N pulled her hand back. He seemed to understand that whatever her body had done to itself needed plenty of time to heal. He kissed her softly on the hand, and she drifted to sleep. She had another nightmare. Another one that was strangely comforted. Like she had a shield to defend her from all the horrible things. 

N spent a lot of time in the next week dodging the professor and cleaning the house the best he could. He didn’t really look through anything. He just made everyone food, did laundry, and did dishes. He dusted some stuff and spent time with Touko. He tried not to get any dust near her, he didn’t want any crap getting into her lungs or her throat. A few days later, and Touko was up and about. She wanted to talk to Reshiram, but knew it was a bad idea. She held his pokeball in her hand. It was an Ultra ball, one N had found in his bag. She walked up to N, and gave him a hug. It was such a random gesture that he actually took a minute to respond. He held her as she started to cry. It wasn’t any emotion that N could identify. Not joy, anger, sadness. Perhaps disappointment. N wondered what exactly she was disappointed in. Herself? It seemed to be the only person to be disappointed in. 

‘Why would she be disappointed in herself? She faced her fears! Maybe it didn’t end well, but she knew what she was getting herself into. She knew fire would be part of it. Is it failure? No. She succeeded at getting the dragon. Perhaps she thinks she failed someone. The dragon, her pokemon, me, Zoroark. All of these are possibilities. None of them are true mind you. Should I ask her?’ He considered for a moment. She held him tightly, not wanting to let go. He looked down at her.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You just burst out into tears!”

“I’m so tired of being a failure.”

“How are you a failure?”

“My pokemon had to carry me off that tower. I was coughing up blood, and shaking. All because I couldn’t just keep it in check for one day.” He began to stroke her hair. She relaxed quickly, melting into his arms.

‘Why does that feel so good?! I don’t understand! It’s like his way of saying things like it’s all gonna be okay or you make me happy! I just don’t get it!’ He picked her up and carried her to the living room. He sat and placed her on his lap.

“And this makes you a failure? How many times have you helped them? You needed help. There is nothing wrong with that. Everyone needs it from time to time.”

“But-” He went back to stroking her hair and she melted again.

“Shh little angel. You have done nothing wrong. Your pokemon are safe, you have succeeded at your goal, and most importantly, you are safe. If anything, I would say you have succeeded at everything you set out to do.” Touko felt her eyes get heavy. Something about lying down with N gave her peace. The pain, the fear, the sadness, the anxiety. It all just seemed less real. Like it couldn’t get her. She felt safe. Something that only her pokemon could do for her, and apparently N. She thought she had fallen for this guy quite some time ago, but every day she seemed to fall farther than the day before. She was absolutely fine with it. The two fell asleep, their comforting presence being one of the nicest things to be around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> N's like, the ultimate huggable thing for Touko.


	18. Once More Unto The Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N gets introduced, Cheren keeps at his delusional planning, and Anthea becomes interested in someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I hope you are all enjoying your morning/afternoon/night!

‘Okay. We’re headed to the airport. Bianca and Iris are getting all cuddly again. Dear god am I glad I don’t go to that school.’ It had been weeks since he started to have the strange dreams, and the semester was over. Iris and Bianca had started dating, and Cheren had to admit they were a cute couple. The two were decently excited to go back to Unova. Bianca’s mom had been very excited to meet Iris, and Bianca was excited to finish her community service. She had done quite a lot at the school, and her mom had decided that she would count half the hours, up to 20 hours of her 40. Bianca had a bit until the next semester started, and she wanted to try to actually apologize. She had learned how Touko had felt during her stay at the school. Constant harassment, sexual remarks, competitiveness. She understood how Touko felt, and wanted to try to show her just how much she had learned. About being a good friend and about the difference between friends and lovers. She had Iris to thank for that, and Iris wanted to meet this ‘Ashen Girl’ too. That was the nickname she had gotten from the Striaton gym, and Iris thought it sounded cool. 

“I can’t wait!”

“For what?!”

“Anything! I’m just going to be so happy to be back to Unova! How about you Cheren?! Are you excited to be back?”

“We aren’t there yet. We have a 17 hour flight until we reach our destination. Besides, why are you so excited? Sure it’ll be nice to see our families again, but it isn’t like they haven’t talked to us in years. It has been 15 weeks since we started school.”

“That isn’t it! I’m excited to try to talk to Touko again! I’ve learned so much! I want to try to rebuild that!”

“Yeah, and I want to at least meet her! It’s fun to meet new people! What are you gonna do when we get there?”

“I don’t know. It’s the 12th, so I’ll probably stay away from home for a bit longer. I’ve gotta go Christmas shopping.” In reality, he just wanted an excuse to try and figure out who Touko was dating. He wanted to show Touko that he was just as caring as whoever it was. 

‘I’ll get you. She’ll see that I’m not the same anymore. She’ll go with me. She has to. She wouldn’t just leave me hanging.’ His mind swirled with thoughts. He was going to invite her over to his house and find a way to show her that he really loved her. He didn’t see anything wrong with his plan, but there were issues. For one thing, he never considered that Touko was not just there because he was caring. She liked her boyfriend because he made sure they were equals. Touko’s say mattered just as much as his. Cheren was wholly convinced that Touko would just take him when he showed her he had changed. The issue really was, Touko was happy with her life. N had detached himself from Plasma, he was going to meet her mother and father soon, and the two were happily living with their pokemon. They were full time assistants of the professor, even if she had never seen N. She had actually never heard his full name. Only N. She asked Touko about it, but Touko wouldn’t tell her. Cheren really had no chance, but he thought he did. Bianca and Iris were kissing, which bothered Cheren. They were quite frisky, even in public. The train was basically empty, but it still sucked to have to listen to them. When they got on the plane, Cheren waited until he could and moved three rows up to avoid seeing and or hearing their intercourse. The plane had dividers that hid the rows from view, and they were quite good at gagging each other. Still, Cheren didn’t want to look up from his book to see one of them bump the flap open. The plane was empty except for a few people up front, so Cheren had his pick of seats. As they flew, Cheren would sometimes stop reading and focus on the things in the plane. He bought some alcohol (he wasn’t old enough, but were they really gonna check?) and when they landed, the three went and got dinner together.

“So Iris, are you gonna stay at a hotel, or are you gonna stay at Bianca’s?””

“At Bianca’s! We have some-”

“Don’t want to know. Knowledge is power and all, but power isn’t something I need a ton of.” He pulled out his newly evolved Serperior. It was getting to be decently powerful. Cheren smiled at his ally. “Come on Servine. Let’s go.” Cheren left money at the table and went off.

**Several Days Later**

At 9 AM on December 24th, Touko and N woke up. N still woke up at 7:30, but went back to bed now. He had left Team Plasma. He didn’t need to worry about that. He had heard that many were following his example, and he was happy about that. When the two awoke, he got ready for the day and sat down on the bed. He had to wait until Touko’s parents left. They had an arrangement where they would leave at ten, and Touko and N would leave to go to work or to head to a city. When the time did eventually come, Touko checked the house, just in case, and they left. The cold snow crunched under their feet as they walked south. They went from the backyard so no one would see them and went south to fly on Reshiram. He was always more than happy to drag them to wherever. He just liked flying around. N was holding Touko around the waist when she spoke up.

“Are you excited?”

“For?”

“For tonight. When you actually get to meet my parents!”

“Very much so. Now that I’m out of Plasma, I can live my own life. Meeting your parents after months of waiting is quite exciting.” She smiled, her dress flapping in the wind. He reached down, touching her. She welcomed the sensation, knowing no-one down below could see or hear her. She pulled up her dress and pulled down her panties. N asked Reshiram to keep flying for a bit and got to work. He ran his fingers up and down, letting the feeling go through his lover. Her moans were enough to tell him she was enjoying it. He opened her and probed into her with his finger. He used his fingers to flex her walls as she craned her neck to kiss him, reveling in the ecstasy. When she came, she bucked her hips a little and smiled. She pulled everything back into place, and had Reshiram land. They made it into the building with N, their masks being reflective opposites. Touko had the dress her father had given her on, and N was wearing a nice suit. Cilan approached them.

“Welcome! I uh, don’t know who you are because, y’know! Anyway, enjoy the party!” The two nodded and went off. Cheren was sitting in the corner, away from everything. He had gotten an invitation, which he accepted. He was surprised when Touko walked through the door. Even more surprised that her boyfriend was here. He had spent the last twelve days looking and finding nothing, and now they showed up right in front of him. She represented angelic beauty. He, at least to Cheren, represented hate and despair. He wanted to confront him, but saw no way to. When the dance started, they started going. Cheren had to give him props. Even he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with this guy, and he had been dancing his whole life. Cheren shook the thought.

‘Not the time for complimenting this guy. If you want Touko, you’re going to have to fight for her.’ Cheren looked about and noticed that Touko and the man were no longer dancing. They had gone off to the side. Touko was sitting on his lap, and they were just watching. Touko had a glass of water, and they looked to be enjoying themselves a great deal. Eventually, the dancing stopped, and the three gym leaders came out. Cress stepped up to the podium.

“Thank you all for being here this afternoon! It is an honor and a pleasure to have you all here! I would like to give special thanks to my brothers, because this would be impossible to set up without them! I hope you enjoy your afternoon with us, and have a great day!” The crowd cheered at the small speech, and the two gym leaders next to him took their turns. Chili was more aggressive, as per usual and Cilan was a little quieter. Of the three, N had actually talked to Cilan quite a bit. Touko was friends with all three, but N thought Cilan, being a reserved, but still professional and passionate person, was easiest to talk to. Chili gave him a headache. Touko got up off of N’s lap and grabbed his hand when he rose.

“Did you want to go get something to eat?”

“No thank you. Are you getting hungry?”

“Yeah. I’ll wait though! Mom’s cooking is something I can wait for, even if it means I’m a little hungry all day!”

“Yes. So I’m told. I am expecting great things.”

“And you will NOT be disappointed! Come on silly, we should dance some more! This ends at three!” He nodded and allowed himself to be dragged off. Touko wasn’t great at dancing, but she was deft enough in her footwork from her years of dueling that she could avoid tripping. N found it kind of endearing that she was trying so hard. She was trying not to embarrass him, and she was doing great. She messed up quite often, but was still doing very well for an uninitiated dancer. Eventually, she twisted her ankle and almost fell. N caught her, picked her up, and dragged her over to a table. Cheren sat, unmoving. He had spent the last two hours, unmoving. He watched everything this man did. Cheren didn’t even care that he was stiff, or anything like that. He watched as Touko and the man left, him carrying her like a princess. They went over and got a thing of ice before sitting outside. Cheren followed, keeping his distance. He listened closely wanting to catch any conversation.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She visibly winced when he put her down. She was very clearly not fine, and he knew it.

“No, you’re not. Sit down. If I knew we were going too fast, I would have slowed down.”

“It wasn’t you. I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, but you did twist your ankle pretty badly. What do you want to do now?” Touko looked about, there really wasn’t much to do around here. Everything was closed. She looked at the ground and had an idea. Her face lit up.

“We could make snowmen! That’d be fun!” N smiled and ruffled her hair.

“That does sound like fun! Come on!” The two started going, N making sure that Touko wasn’t hurting herself. She was limping, but was otherwise not falling or anything. They started with the base, getting a decent ball of snow piled up. Touko pulled out all of her pokemon, except Reshiram. Even Aurora. She had been more open about Aurora recently, and she figured Aurora enjoyed playing in the snow just as much as anyone. Zorro and Shell made a little snow castle. The Samurott and newly evolved Zoroark were trying to get the walls just right, and they were having a competition. Aurora pushed the snowman’s base around some, collecting snow, before getting hit by a snowball. The legendary looked at the trio to its left, and smiled.

“All of you asked for it! En guard!” Aurora kicked snow up at them, and it started a snowball fight. Elpis was by far the smallest pokemon there. She had been given a Shiny stone, but Cinccino just weren’t the size of a fully grown Zoroark. She was fine with it though. All of them were fully evolved now, and that was awesome. Now there were two Zoroarks, and Elpis had no issue with that. More Zoroarks to nap on was never a bad thing in her mind. She was making a snowball when something caught her eye. It was a man staring at them while writing in his notebook. She stopped for a second. It looked like that guy Touko used to talk to. She got hit with a snowball, and when she recovered from it, the man was gone. Elpis was slightly freaked out by this. She shook the thought and continued the snowball fight. When sundown struck, the group headed out of the city. They got on Reshiram and headed back to Nuvema town. She started to shiver, so N held her close to keep her warm. She had been cold all day, since the coat didn’t cover her legs and she was wearing a dress. When they landed in Nuvema town a few minutes later, they headed back from the shores to the house. She opened the front door and walked in with N. Her parents were in the kitchen, so she called to them.

“Hey, could y’all close your eyes for a second?”

“Of course dear! Tell your boyfriend hello for us!” She walked into the kitchen still holding N’s hand. N was obviously nervous, but Touko knew he would be.

“Why don’t you tell him yourself? Everyone, this is N!” They opened their eyes and looked at the man standing there. He was tall, had green hair, and he had blue eyes. Touko’s mom was giddy.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“Likewise ma’am.”

“So formal! Come! Have a seat!” He sat down next to Touko and Touko shook him lightly.

“Are you okay N? You’re as pale as I am!” He looked at her, quite unsure what to say. He felt like he would horribly offend someone, and he didn’t want to offend Touko’s parents. His mind circled with things, but he didn’t want to say them. He was absolutely terrified.

“Your boyfriend doesn’t seem to talk much. What’s up?” Her father looked confused, before a grin of realization spread on his face. “I see! Whatever’s on your mind, it won’t offend me. Why don’t we get to know each other over dinner? Best friends I ever made were made while we were eating and drinking! Speakin’ of, would ya like something to drink? We got beer, whiskey, wine, and lotsa other stuff!”

“I don’t drink. Sorry.”

“Ay, that’s okay buddy! Touko drinks all the time, but her mother don’t!” Touko blushed. She was embarrassed that her dad was just saying these things. In front of her boyfriend. Like it was normal.

“You make me sound like a raging alcoholic. I don’t really drink that much.” Her head was down, so she could barely be heard. Her parents obviously found it quite amusing.

“Hats off everyone!” Touko’s mother got up and got enchiladas out of the oven. N quickly took his hat off, not wanting to make her repeat herself. Touko took hers off and hung it on the back of her chair. She looked at N, who was still very obviously freaking out. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he calmed down some. 

“Deep breaths. You aren’t doing anything wrong. Just enjoy the food and the company. They’re nice people. Trust me!” She pecked him on the cheek and moved back. Touko’s mother smiled as she sat down. N was obviously staring at the food.

“N dear, is there something wrong?”

“No.” His answer was extremely short, almost reserved.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She nodded and sat down. Touko’s dad got up and got himself a beer. He also poured Touko a glass of wine. He knew his daughter liked alcohol. She was only 17, but oh well. She thanked him for it and sipped on it. N sat there for a moment before being handed some food. He thanked Ms White for cooking, and ate. Touko was right, it was really good. Far better than anything at the castle.

“So N, how do you like it?”

“Have you considered starting a restaurant? Your cooking is good enough that I imagine it would be quite successful.”

“I’ve always wanted to own a restaurant. Archeology and cooking. The two reasons I met my husband.”

“And she’s only improved in her years of cooking. She started with an old cookbook her grandma gave her. That woman had a heart of gold. Anyway, I helped her come up with some stuff when our archeological teams combined. When they broke apart again, we left so we could be together. I assume you and Touko have had a somewhat bumpy road?”

“I tried to cave his chest in and almost slit his throat.” Ms White stopped eating.

“You did what now?”

“There were some… mistakes. I swung myself at him with a balcony support beam and put my knife to his throat.”

“Hey, at least she was direct. When you got angry at me, I literally sat there for a week trying to figure out what I did.”

“I think I prefer what she did to me. Besides, it looked cool.” They ate for a few minutes, silence filling the room. Eventually, conversation started back up.

“So N, what is it you two like to do together?” N thought for a second.

“We like talking to our pokemon, she has taught me some sparring stuff, some archeology, we like going out into the world and experiencing it. We enjoy just spending time together.” She nodded. Touko had gotten up to get more wine.

“Good. Any good relationship has people that are just fun to hang out with. Touko dear, calm down with the wine. That is your third glass!” She bobbed from side to side, not responding to what her mother had said. She did this sometimes. She wouldn’t think before she got more, and because she REALLY couldn’t take liquor, she would just sort of bounce about. “N, would you be a dear and take her up to her room? She seems to need to take a nap.” N nodded and grabbed Touko, scooping her up like she weighed nothing. He carried her up to her room and laid her down. She grabbed his neck and pulled him closer. She kissed him and then just looked at him before smiling.

“Hey N?”

“Yes Touko?”

“Do you want to have sex? I want you oh so badly!” He stopped for a second. He already knew the answer. Yes, he wanted to have sex with her. But not now. He knew when Touko got drunk, she lost all of her sense. He wasn’t going to use that to his advantage.

“Not today. You aren’t thinking straight right now. When you’re sober, it’ll be a conversation we have. Until then, sex is not something you will wake up and not regret.” She frowned.

“Okay. Can you read me a story?” The question caught him off guard. He nodded and grabbed a book. He sat down and started reading. It was a story about a child that could turn invisible, and used their power to do good and evil. When she was passed out, he closed the book and went back out of the room. He walked down the stairs and sat back at the table.

“Is she asleep?”

“Yes. I forgot that I shouldn’t have been surprised by your daughter when she is drunk.”

“She’s gotten drunk around you before?”

“Yes. While you were still in Johto, Ms White. She passed out after reading the latin book she always carries backwards. It was like she was trying to summon something.” Ms White’s face lit up with curiosity.

“So what’d she tell you this time?”

“She asked me to read her a story. A children’s book. It never occurred to me that she read so many books until I went into her room the first time weeks ago.”

“Weeks ago?”

“Yes. When Touko was injured because of the… accident, I came here for the first time. That is why Herdier is fine with me. The first time I came, he would not stop asking who I was and why I was here.”

“Huh. Is that why Touko was gone when I came back?”

“Yes. She and I were in Nimbasa.” Ms White made a sort of ‘cool, that explains a lot’ kind of face. She noted that N sounded extremely formal, and that his mannerisms were quite strange. The doorbell rang. N stepped toward it but Ms. White went for it. Mr. White looked at N. He was strange, but seemed fine other than that.

“So N, what’d you get Touko for Christmas?”

“A dress and some dress gloves.”

“Prim and proper?”

“Sort of. I got it weeks ago, and I’ve been excited to see if she likes it.”

“She’ll like it. She doesn’t wear dresses as often as she used to, but she still loves ‘em. Long as it aint one of those poofy ones. She likes the tighter fitting ones.” N shrugged.

“She does look good in them.” Ms. White walked back. She looked very agitated. “Ms. White? Is there something wrong?” She sighed and looked up at him.

“No. I’m just tired.”

“And deflecting questions. No offense Ms. White, I spend far too much time with your daughter for that to work.” She smiled slightly.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s more of a me issue than anyone else.” 

“Well, I think I’ll go to bed. Touko gets irritated when I stay up all night.”

“Good night buddy! See ya in the morn!” N waved goodbye and set off to get ready for bed. When he laid down, he fell asleep rather fast. He felt at peace, lying next to Touko.

Cheren was not at rest. He had been told by Touko’s mother that she had told him that he wouldn’t be talking to Touko. She seemed rather irate. He walked into his house, and went upstairs, knowing full well that Touko was probably asleep with her boyfriend. She very rarely stayed up past 9:30, and really only when she had nightmares.

‘Come on Cheren, you got this. Touko will probably come over tomorrow, she is still on good terms with my parents, and she always gets them something. That’s when you’ll declare your love for her! It’ll all make sense to her when she hears the reasoning. God, she drives me crazy. I know her much better than that random guy. I don’t get it. Why does she stay away from relationships with me for years, but then falls for a guy in a few months?’ He shook his head. It made no sense. He put on his coat and headed out again. He needed to get Touko a gift. It needed to be something she really liked. Thoughts swirled in his head from watching her earlier.

‘Was that legendary hers? It was massive! How long has she had it? What was with her other pokemon? There was a Zoroark, a Samurott, and a Cinccino. She had another pokeball on her, an ultra ball. Is it another legendary? She already has one, so maybe. That guy, he looked familiar. I don’t know if I’m imagining it though, I certainly haven’t been of clear mind in some time.’ He walked into the store and looked around. He got Touko some chocolate, a card, and one of those large teddy bears. She had a large collection of teddy bears, which he had always fantasized about fucking her on. He checked out and went outside. Energy flowed through him as he thought about all the fantasies that involved her. He shook the thought. ‘She’ll be yours soon. Tomorrow, I am once more unto the breach, and I will be the victor.’

Ghetsis sat in the map room. N had left Plasma, the organization was falling to pieces, and he could do nothing about it. Without N, his plan for world domination had fallen to pieces. Anthea brought him some water and he swept it off the table and the young girl jumped back with a yelp.

“I DO NOT NEED ANYTHING TO DRINK!”

“I apologize my lord. I won’t do it again.” She considered for a moment. “Lord Ghetsis?”

“WHAT?!” She swallowed. She needed to know. N was her brother and she was scared for him. She wasn’t sure what had caused him to leave, but it must have been very important to him.

“Has the Shadow Triad found N? Is he okay?” Ghetsis snarled.

“I DO NOT CARE ABOUT N! HE HAS BETRAYED US! NOW WE ARE LEFT WITH FEW MEMBERS, ALMOST NO MONEY, AND NO FIGUREHEAD!” She was frozen in fear. Ghetsis was absolutely not someone she wanted to make angry. She bowed her head and walked out of the room. She caught her breath before two other goddesses found her. She stood up straight. 

“Did you need something?”

“We heard Lord Ghetsis yelling at you. Are you okay?”

“Yes. I just need a moment to calm myself.” She considered for a moment. “Where are my manners! Enjoy your Christmas Eve!” They nodded and left Anthea alone. She headed to her room and looked at her picture album. It was full of pictures of N and her. Concordia and the other goddesses played prominent roles as well. They all cared for N deeply, and all of them hoped N was leading a better life away from Ghetsis’ abuse. She hoped she would see him again, but knew she might not. She was the Plasma Goddess of love, but what she hoped for and loved didn’t really matter. Just that she did. For a better world, for N’s safety, to keep getting to see her Chansey. All of these were incredibly important to her. She was absolutely not alone in this either. There were still a few hundred Plasma grunts, but only a few dozen were entirely loyal to Ghetsis. The rest had their own reasons. Money, them having nowhere else to go, fear. Anthea opened her journal. It had a lock that only her and Concordia had the key to.

‘December 24th. I am unsure of so much as of recently. I am scared of Ghetsis becoming violent with any of the goddesses. N used to protect us, but with him gone, there is no one. I am glad N is no longer getting ruthlessly beaten, but I wish none of us would have to worry about our survival. The children around the castle are mostly unaware of the situation. I have tried to shield them from Ghetsis, as he does not like children. He seems to be in a worse mood than usual whenever they are around. He slapped me afterwards the children had all gotten home. I’ve had to wear normal clothes for about a week to hide the bruising. If it gets any worse, I will have the children be homeschooled. Not ideal, but I have no choice. All of the goddesses are trying their hardest. I had no idea Ghetsis hit so hard. N’s excessive injuries make sense when the same rage is directed at you. I will make a small gift bag for all of the children. There are still a few hours in the night, and their parents might not be able to get them much. I am sorry for all of this N. We shouldn’t have let you take this for so long. The Shadow Triad has been keeping order, but how long they can is up to question. I wish I could leave, but I cannot. It is my duty to stay with the children. As long as it takes.’ She closed and locked the journal before putting it in her desk and pulling out a bunch of Christmas cards. She started writing their names down, one at a time. It was time consuming, but worth it. She heard a knock on the door.

“Enter!” The door opened to one of the admins. He walked up to her and looked over her shoulder.

“Whatcha up to?”

“Writing cards. If you plan to tell Ghetsis about this, don’t bother. He will find out anyway. Whether you tell him or not doesn’t matter.” He smirked.

“Goddess, I am doing no such thing.” He massaged her shoulders and she fell into it. She was so stiff, and it felt so good.

“We must be professional. Ghetsis would have my head if he found us like this.”

“Well, he seems to already have it out for you goddess. Those bruises are very telling.”

“If I must suffer bruises so the children can be safe, that is something I will gladly accept. Still, I am sure he wouldn’t want us to be like this…”

“Well what about you goddess? Do you want me to stop?”

“No. I enjoy it quite a lot.” He continued and she rolled her head back, feeling rather good. Like all of her pain was melting away. He smiled, the woman obviously needed the relaxation.

“You need to spend time relaxing. Warm baths or a spa. Either way, you are so incredibly stiff, it must be incredibly painful. The pained expression mars your beauty. Anyway, I was sent up here to tell you the other Goddesses wished to speak with you.”

“Thank you. For everything. It is so nice to be able to move my shoulders again. Perhaps you would consider doing it again sometime?”

“Absolutely your worship. Did you wish me to relay a message to them?”

“Yes please. Tell them I will be down in a few minutes.” He saluted and walked out.

“What a pleasant man! He really helped me! Perhaps I should relax more often…” She grabbed all of her cards and rushed downstairs. She walked into the large meeting room where dinner was prepared. None of the sages were there, and she was fine with that. She sat down and silently placed her letters on the ground.

“It seems that Anthea was busy when we called her! Goodness, how many cards do you have there?”

“79. I have to get them all out tonight, so it seems another long night is ahead of me.” Concordia smiled.

“You must allow yourself a break sister!”

“No. This is important to me. These children do not deserve to be mistreated like this. I wish to attempt to hide everything that is going wrong.”

“Will this work? Children are hard to keep secrets from. They always find out.”

“I did this for N when he was younger. He forgot all about his curiosity about whatever happened to be going on that day. It was a useful tool, and it gave me something to do.”

“You have enough to do. How does everyone figure he is doing?”

“I hope he is safe. Beyond that, I really have no clue what to think anymore.” The goddesses all murmured in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is fairly lemony. So, y'know. I was planning on releasing it for Christmas, but I probably won't. It takes a darker turn, so it's hardly the atmospheric Christmas piece that I wanted it to be. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	19. Two Mistakes, One Correction, Even Bigger Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those who claim to love us, are often the ones who want us to change the most...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemony, broken bones (not related to the sex. Dear god that would be extreme), and some positivity. Isn't it exactly the kind of chapter to give you guys before Christmas? Wholesome? Not really. Fun? It depends. Can you tell what character I definitely don't like from B/W? 100%. Enjoy!

Touko opened her eyes around 9:30. N was sitting at her desk reading a book. She got up and he turned, hearing her disturb the bedsheets.

“Your parents left 15 minutes ago. Said they would be at the neighbor’s house. They’ll be back around 12.” Touko rubbed her eyes, and felt a sudden burning go to her face. He was unsure of why she was blushing, but she was figuring it out. She sat down on the bed and motioned for him to come closer. He put the book down and sat next to her.

“Merry Christmas is the day specific greeting, but I’ll settle with a kiss.” He leaned in close and kissed her. It had the exact reaction Touko figured it would. She just wanted more. She wrapped her arms around N’s neck and kissed him more, she sat on his lap until she felt the bulge growing in his pants. “Someone’s excited!” He looked embarrassed.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be! I like it!” She put her fingers on the button, and waited for him to give the okay. He nodded and she pulled it out. She unzipped her Audino onesie, letting her breasts drop. N expected her to stop unzipping there, she usually did. She didn’t really see a point in getting fully undressed. She was usually only using her mouth, so there was really no point. She pulled it off and dropped her panties. She normally didn’t do that, certainly not so seductively. “Do you want me?” She knew his answer of course. Just because he respected her didn’t mean he didn’t make his want to make love to her clear. He stood up, brushing her crotch with his member. She moaned slightly.

“I thought you’d never ask.” She smiled, and laid down on the bed, spreading her legs.

“Come get me then!” He smiled. She wasn’t drunk, and he was going to check again before they went the full way, but she genuinely seemed to want this. He wanted her so badly, and was very excited by the prospect of making love to her. He slid his hard member up and down her slit. She could feel the large cock of her lover teasing her slit and she was enjoying it. She looked at it lustfully, her face completely blushed. She had been preparing for this for months. She had started taking birth control when they were in Castelia. She wanted him to go all the way, not have to worry about knocking her up. She wasn’t ready to be a mother, but she was ready for N to fuck her. They had both been fantasizing about it, and now it was becoming a reality. He slid it up and down a few more times before stopping and grabbing it. He looked at her, lust in his eyes. 

“May I?” She smiled. She was so ready for it, and she wanted him.

“Yes!” He nodded.

“If you want me to stop, just tell me.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about that too much though. Also, it’s okay to cum inside. I’m on birth control.” Her smile was lustful and it made N want her even more. He noted it and stuck it in. It was wet, but warm. It felt amazing, and so he pushed further. He pulled back out and slammed back in. Touko’s surprised moan was all he needed to keep going. He grabbed her breasts and slammed back into her, letting her enjoy it a little before starting to do it a bit faster. The slapping sound pleased N, so he started going faster. Touko’s hips bucked as she moaned. “Fuck! It feels so good! Slam me harder! Fuck my tight pussy!” N obliged, slamming into her full force at top speed. He held the area around her stomach, and she grabbed her breasts. Everything that touched her sent shocking sensations up her body. Everything he did made her feel better, and she was tensing up, letting him feel even better as her walls squeezed him. He kept going, his rigid cock slamming into her.

‘I knew his endurance was good, but oh god! It feels so good!’ He slammed it in, and Touko felt herself filling with liquid. She wrapped her legs around N to keep him all the way in. It felt so good, she realized she wouldn’t have cared if she wasn’t on birth control. She came as the cum spurted out, her liquids mixing with his. He pulled out and white liquid pooled on the sheets. She seemed to be . He kissed her, their tongues meeting and wrapping around each other. N stayed close to her, nuzzling her nose.

“Sorry about the sheets.”

“Don’t worry about it. Do you want to continue our fun?” He smiled.

“Of course.” She adjusted so he backed up. She got on all fours and beckoned him forward. He considered for a moment.

‘She said it felt divine. Perhaps I should mount her.’ He stepped forward, onto the bed.

“N? What are you doin-” She stopped when he eased into her ass. She didn’t even need an answer. His dick was saying plenty. She felt it slide all the way in, its girth making her ass seperate. It was slick because of her vagina, so it slid in effortlessly. Her eyes went a little crossed, and she could no longer stay on her arms. She went down, arching her body as she drooled from the sensation. Her head rested on her arms until N pulled her up and kissed her. The kiss was more sloppy from both of them and Touko had to go back down because her arms would not function correctly. Neither would her legs. Her body had turned to jelly the moment he had stuck it in. “Don’t stop! Please! Keep going!” Touko had begun to pant with her tongue sticking out, fitting for the animalistic way N was doing this. Lust in his eyes, he was relentless. He was on top of her, his cock being put into her, her body opening itself. He grabbed her around the stomach as he filled her again, more cum filling her body. Her head went back, her eyes rolled back, and she once again came after he pounded her a minute more, cum occasionally coming to fill her body even more. N pulled out and flipped Touko onto her back. He began to fondle her, running his fingers over her body. He touched her crotch, the cum sticking to his fingers. He moved up, her sensitivity making everything he did seem like he was back in her. She recovered, and kissed N once more. “N, thank you. That felt… amazing!” He smiled.

“Absolutely. And thank you for letting me do that.” The two made out for a bit. Eventually, it came to a close, and the two got their clothes on. Touko still had cum coming out, and she didn’t mind that. It was amazing to her, and it was a gift from N. The two walked out of the room and got started on the day. 

Cheren was sitting in his room, working through the details. He had gotten some flowers, he was wearing nice clothes, and he had some other stuff. When Touko came over, he was going to show her how much he loved her. He had condoms just in case. He didn’t think he’d need them, but apparently she was ‘always horny’ as Bianca put it so he couldn’t be too careful. He looked at the time. It was about ten. She would probably come over at 11. She always made her rounds like that on Christmas. He sighed. He wished she would make an exception today. He wanted to get this done and over with.

Touko and N sat on the couch, snuggled up. Touko had fallen asleep, and N was stroking her hair. There was a knock on the door and he got up to answer it. First he laid Touko down, trying not to disturb her. He looked at her for a second. She was cute when she slept like that. He turned and answered the door. He had to look down, but he saw two girls, one with light skin and blonde hair, and the other with dark skin and black hair.

“Hiya! Is Touko home?”

“Possibly. It depends who’s asking.”

“I’m Bianca. I need to talk to Touko.”

“So you’re the ‘Bianca’ I’ve heard so much about.”

“I guess…”

“So then, I shouldn’t need to explain why I don’t trust you around Touko.”

“I know, but I need to talk to her! I have things I need to say!” N considered for a second. He held up a finger, and walked over to Touko, waking her. Bianca couldn’t hear what they were saying, but N started to walk over to the door.

“Very well. Be insulting, or make rude remarks, and I will throw you two out. Attempt anything past that, and there will be no mercy.” N whistled. “Aurora! I need you downstairs!” They heard a sort of bark-like growl “Yeah, I get that, but it’ll be better for Touko’s well being!” They heard a large pokemon walk through the house. It sat next to Touko, who started talking to it.

“How was your nap?” More incoherent stuff. “I get that. Once we’re done, you’ll fall asleep again anyway. Hey do you want us to make you some of that rock candy tomorrow?” The noises sounded happy. “Cool.” The two girls walked into the room, and Aurora’s sort of happy expression melted into one that struck fear into them. They sat on the other couch, obviously a little worried. The pokemon made more noise. “Aurora, that isn’t very nice! Okay, yeah. Good point.” Iris spoke up.

“Are you… talking to your pokemon? Like having a conversation?”

“Yeah.” She looked at Iris for a second. “Have we met before?”

“Nope! I’m Bianca’s girlfriend! I met her a while back!” Touko nodded. Bianca just looked so confused.

“But you can’t understand them…”

“That you knew of. One of many things I’ve kept secret from you guys for oh so long.”

“Why?”

“Bianca, you aren’t stupid. Figure it out. Every time I did something, people would either make fun of me or attack me for it. Aurora has been dealing with me coming home crying for the last 7 years.”

“7 years? So you’ve been a trainer since before you moved here?”

“Yeah. A month before I moved here. Anyway, what exactly did you want to talk about?”

“Well, remember how you said not to say sorry unless it actually meant something?”

“And I stand by that.”

“I was sent to that Kanto school, and I got a first hand taste of everything we’ve put you through. Bullying, sexual remarks, physical abuse. It sucked. And we put you through that for 7 years. Day in, day out. It was unacceptable. So I just wanted to say; I’m sorry. I wasn’t a good friend at all, and why I wasn’t was because I was a selfish, mean, stupid kid who wanted to sleep with you. So I probably hurt you more like that than most people did in 7 years. I shouldn’t have done it. Any of it. I get if you don’t want to talk to me anymore, that would probably be reasonable.” The room fell silent. Touko ran it all through her head, letting Bianca’s words sink in. N sat next to her and hugged his girlfriend. It was a lot for her to process. She looked at Bianca.

“Well, I won’t say I’ll completely forgive you. Not even close. That’ll take time. Still, if you really do mean all of this, and you really are the bright side of Bianca, the one that wasn’t doing horrible things, then I see no reason why I would never talk to you again.” Tears formed at Bianca’s eyes. She would have thought that Touko hated her in entirety. Iris smiled. It wasn’t every day she got to see broken friendships get mended. Bianca and Iris eventually left, and Touko smiled as she laid her head in N’s lap. 

“Y’know, we should get our own place.”

“Yes, we should. What kind of place did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. We should ask our pokemon. They’ll definitely want a say.” N nodded. 

“Yes. What time is it?” Touko looked at her Xtransceiver.

“ About 10:45. Why?”

“Don’t we have somewhere to be at 11?” She smiled.

“Yes, but I think I’ll push that back some. I am drained from all the fun we had earlier! We might drop by at some point, but we might not.”

“Isn’t it a thing you have to do?”

“Darling, I don’t have to do anything. Besides, Cheren might be at that house. He’s set in his ways, and I don’t want to deal with it right now.” N nodded. He understood her wish to avoid him. They turned on the TV to watch cartoons. N found them entertaining, and Touko loved them. It was a Looney Toons christmas cartoon. Touko sat up and got close to N, wrapping her blanket around the two.

Mr and Ms White sat across the table from Cheren’s and Bianca’s parents. They were playing a game of Scorpion. Bianca and Iris walked into the house. Bianca’s mom looked up.

“How’d it go?”

“Better than expected! She said that she isn’t ready to forgive me, but she is open to talking, as long as it stays nice!” 

“Hooray! See? Communication is the key to any good relationship! Friendship or otherwise!” Bianca and Iris took off their sweaters. They were firm believers in the ‘ugly sweaters’ of Christmas. Both of them loved wearing them, and they were surprisingly comfortable given what they looked like. Cheren walked down the stairs from his room. Bianca waved.

“Hi Cheren! You’re looking snazzy! What’s the occasion?” He wasn’t about to say it out loud, certainly not next to Touko’s parents. They didn’t like him much anymore.

“Christmas.”

“You need a sweater! There is simply no replacement for an ugly Christmas sweater!” Cheren just shook his head. 

“Bianca, I don’t get you. Anyway, what have you two been up to?”

“We were talking to Touko!” Cheren hid his raging jealousy. Touko still hadn’t come over, and it was making his plan difficult to enact.

“I see. How is she doing?”

“Great! She’s hanging out with her boyfriend and her pokemon!” Touko’s boyfriend. He kept himself under control, but really wanted to march over there and beat the crap out of him. In Cheren’s mind, anyone who got in the way of him being with Touko was an enemy. He sat down and started to read, his mind skipping over the words. He couldn’t focus on them. After about 30 minutes, he got bored. He wanted to go see her, but he knew it couldn’t be that obvious. Still, he got up and got his coat on.

“See you later Cheren!” Iris was waving, being her usual energetic self. He waved back and went outside. Much to his surprise, he saw exactly what he wanted. Touko. She was sitting next to the man with green hair. He looked to be telling jokes and she was laughing. That was unfortunate. The man went to go grab something, so Cheren took his chance. There was no-one else around. He walked over. She didn’t even notice him until he was very close. He stopped a few feet away.

“Touko! So nice to see you again!”

“...”

“Shy as usual? Okay, fine. Let’s get this out of the way now.” She stood up and turned away from him. He grabbed her arm. “We have to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Oh, but I have so much to say to you!”

“I don’t care! Let me go!” She wasn’t physically very strong, and Cheren had gotten to be a bit stronger. She tried to pry herself from his grip, but it wasn’t working. “N! Help me!” Cheren covered her mouth.

“Shh my little angel.” She felt the anger rising in her. That was something N called her. She bit his hand, but it still stayed.

“Mmph!”

“Must you be so loud?” He carried her off to the back of Bianca’s house. Touko struggled all the way, but Cheren was just too strong. When they got back there, she tried to scream, but his hand was still on her mouth. “You see Touko, I’ve always liked you. I know you think you love that green haired man, but you’ll see that I’m right. That I will do you better than he ever could.” Touko managed to rip her face away from Cheren’s hand.

“Aurora! N! Help me!” He slapped her, when her head came back toward him, she had blood running down her nose. He threw her against the side of the house, and she crumpled. She tried to get back up, and he kicked her in the ribs.

“You will not do that. You will not yell anymore. You will give me a chance.”

“Go to hell. I gave you a chance.”

“No. You always denied me.”

“I don’t want to be with you. I have a happier life now that you’re out of it.”

“Maybe. But you will come to realize that you will lead your best life with me. Not that _thing_. The man that believes in pokemon liberation. I thought I recognized him. He’s using you.” Touko got to her feet. Her vision was sort of blurry. She looked at Cheren, hatred flowing through her eyes.

“You’re wrong. He is the only one to ever believe in me outside of my family. He has his ideal, and I have mine. We are different, but even so, we are more together than you and I will ever be.”

“Ideals. Such a stupid thing. Forcing your ideas onto others.”

“No. Ideals have a certain beauty. You Cheren, have no ideal. Nothing to work towards. You think your ideal is me, but it isn’t. Ideals are something you have to care for. This is the truth.”

“And how can you be so sure?”

“Because I have told her.” Cheren looked around and heard nothing. He turned and Touko sprinted as fast as she could. She was slowed quite a bit by her injuries. She could feel that at least three of her ribs were broken. She was quite sure she knew what had happened. The dragon’s voice echoed in her mind. “Run child. Aurora slumbers, and I am in my pokeball. N will help you.”

“No! I don’t need help! I’m doing this myself!” She ran inside, nearly knocking down N. She grabbed all of her pokemon, and she woke Aurora up. N ran after her, his Zoroark right behind them. She ran into the center of town, where Cheren was waiting. He smiled slyly at her. He grabbed his first pokemon of six.

“If that’s the way you want to do this.”

“I don’t want to do any of this! I want you to leave me alone, and if this is how, this is how!” She drew Shell to deal with his Simisear. The pokemon reflected the hatred in its trainer’s eyes. The Samurott stood by, awaiting orders. “Hydro pump!” The fear reflected in his Simisear’s eyes was almost palpable. Touko felt bad when she saw it. She didn’t want to hurt his pokemon. Only him. The entire rest of the battle went similarly. Cheren’s dream of strength crumpling before him. As was Touko’s will to fight. He saw the pain in her eyes every time an attack landed. His team was helpless in this. They didn’t even see a point in fighting it. Every time another one came out, Touko would switch in another, more angry pokemon. Cheren threw his Serperior out.

“It seems that I am almost at the end.”

“Does this not even bother you?! Your pokemon are just getting demolished, and you don’t seem to care!” The entire crowd watched as she slowly started to break down. They hated watching it. It was clear she didn’t want to fight, and that she wanted to stop.

“I don’t need to win. If this is a battle of ‘ideals’ then all I need to do is break your ideal. I seem to be decently close too. So what will it be? You give up, and admit I’m right. Or, you cause more suffering than you already have. Do choose quickly, we don’t have all day.” Touko couldn’t handle it. Everyone looked at her expectantly. She just couldn’t do it. She began to weep, the crushing sadness of hurting pokemon that didn’t want to fight. Their sounds of anguish as they hit the ground. She collapsed onto her knees, dried blood covering her face. She felt defeated, yet he had not dealt a single blow. In that moment, she felt alone. Cheren stepped forward. “And so we have our answer as to whose ideal was stronger. As if it was ever a question.” Touko just wept, resigning herself to whatever came next. The next thing was a familiar feeling hand touching her shoulder. It was N. He knelt next to her and hugged her. Cheren put his Serperior away before healing all of his pokemon. N took the Ultra ball that sat on Touko’s waist.

“You’re right. It really was never a question.” He threw out Reshiram, the dragon rising to full size. The snow melted around it. The dragon screamed into the air, the sound bringing pokemon flying for cover. Reshiram lowered itself to look at its foe, and the crowd backed up. Fear and awe filling them. The dragon roared, and the grass burst into flame. “And you will pay dearly for your mistakes.”

“What the hell?”

“My father always said I had no heart. That to other people, I was a freak. A monster. I may hate battling with all of my being. This is a fact. However, I have learned that sometimes, we must do things we hate for people we love. Now, I will fight.” Reshiram’s voice echoed in his head.

“I stand with you. For the moment, your order is my command.” N nodded his head and pulled his hat down. Cheren looked a little panicked.

“I decline the challenge.”

“You cannot. You are in the official Unova league. Any trainer within the league can challenge you and you may not refuse. Unless of course, someone wishes to fight in your stead?” N looked around. No one said a word. Iris was in awe at the dragon, and Bianca had made her way around the crowd to help Touko. Cheren reluctantly pulled out his pokemon. Reshiram just demolished them, one after another. Zorro came out of the pokeball before Serperior could be targeted by Reshiram’s massive flames.

“Wait! I want to deal with this one.” N stepped back. Zorro was always cheerful, so when he wasn’t people backed off. He walked up to his starting position. All of her other pokemon came out too. Reshiram stepped back, letting his friend have at it. “Well, we meet again! Don’t worry, I’ll make it as painless as possible!”

“So you’re finally done hiding behind your dragon? Perhaps an actual fight is in order.”

“As if you could be any challenge. Hey N! Can I go it alone on this one?”

“If you wish to.” The Zoroark laughed. 

“Good. Let’s have some fun with it then!” He quickly went after the snake, slamming it ruthlessly into the ground. Zorro was angry. Shell and Elpis were angry, and he was going to show this pokemon just how angry they all were. He used Shadow ball, slamming it off to the side. It got back up, but was very weak. The Serperior attacked at his master’s behest after getting healed, but Zorro just stood there and took it. 

“What, not as nimble as you used to be, ‘Zorro’? Maybe you should call your dragon. You probably need the help.”

“Make fun of the name, sure. At least my trainer gave enough thought to me to give me something I liked. What’s your trainer ever given you? Disdain? Oh wait, he doesn’t even care enough to give you that!” The pokemon flinched at that. Zorro was done fighting with any sort of restraint. He ejected his claws, ripping into the Serperior. It screamed in agony as the Zoroark attacked for all its trainer had suffered for. When the Serperior begged for mercy, Zorro just finished him with another Shadow ball. He walked over to Touko with N. She was still absolutely destroyed. She wouldn’t respond to anyone, and she was just murmuring something in latin. N recalled Reshiram and knelt next to her. He stroked her face.

“You’re going to be okay. You are going to be fine.”

“I’m a horrible trainer.”

“No. Don’t let him twist this on you.”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt them! Please don’t leave!” This puzzled N for a moment. He thought about it for a second before it hit him. She was talking to herself in latin. She must have been telling herself that she wasn’t trying to hurt them. She was afraid N would hate her for the fact she had kept fighting, despite knowing she was hurting pokemon that didn’t want to fight.

“Touko, look at me.” She looked up at him, her head bobbing from side to side slightly. “You are an amazing trainer. You did nothing wrong. You showed compassion, despite not being shown any in return. Come. We will get you some medical attention.” They headed toward the house. Touko’s parents followed behind them, her mother dialing the number for at home emergency care. The entire crowd waited until she was inside before surrounding Cheren and starting to boo at him. Some people threw snowballs at the man. Bianca walked up to him and slapped him clear across the face. She walked away, not wanting anything to do with him.

N sat with Touko on the couch. The doctor had come and helped with the broken ribs, as well as a sprained wrist. She was absolutely delirious. N held her hand, which seemed to help, but could do little else. She was just sitting there, saying over and over the same thing.

“I didn’t want to hurt them. I didn’t want to hurt them. I didn’t want to hurt them.” Elpis sat on her trainer’s arm. Zorro and Shell sat near the door. Aurora sat next to the fireplace, watching over the two humans. Touko had never felt like she was in the wrong in a situation like this before. She had always felt like she was doing the right thing. Now, she just felt disgusting. N put his hand on her face and kissed her forehead. She apprehensively put her head into his chest, like she felt he would reel back at her touch.

“We know. You are not at fault.”

“Tonight, if you don’t want me to sleep next to you, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Now why would I ever want you to sleep anywhere I could not hug you? Sure, I need to be careful, but not THAT careful.”

“Because. You saw me challenge someone I knew I would demolish because of something selfish. I hurt his pokemon because I thought it would get him away from me.”

“Were I faster, I would have challenged him before you did. You are an excellent trainer, an excellent person, and an excellent girlfriend.”

“It just… bothers me. I didn’t do it just because I wanted him to get away from me. He called me something. He called me one of the nicknames you give me. It made me want to hurt him. He talked about you like you were subhuman. I took offense to that, but I went too far.”

“Well, I would say me calling you that would be slightly different than him calling you it. What exactly did he call you?”

“He called me ‘his little angel.’” N considered for a moment.

“Well, he is simply wrong then. Anyone with sense would know that you aren’t just any little angel. You are my little angel. Not his, mine. Coming from him, that title is meaningless. I gave you that title because it fits, but more importantly, because you helped me find my place in the world. Without you being my guiding angel, I would still be lost.” Touko looked up at N, hope refilling her face as he held her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Merry Christmas! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, just have a good day!


	20. The Beginning Of A Long Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthea, who has been nearly alone since N left for reasons she cannot comprehend, manages to pull strings to get someone to be a friend with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is the first chapter to include a super important OC! Please enjoy!

Anthea sat in her quarters. She had fallen asleep while writing the cards. She woke up and cursed at herself. She wanted to have these out by morning. Now it was morning’s twilight. She got right back to work. She heard a knock at the door.

“Enter.” The door opened and then closed again. “I am quite busy, so if you would hurry with whatever it is you need.”

“Indeed Anthea.” She shot up. It was Ghetsis.

“My lord! I meant no disrespect!” Ghetsis looked past her.

“What is all this?”

“Christmas cards sir. To keep the children occupied and out of the way.” Her voice was shaky. She absolutely didn’t want anything to happen to her work so far. Ghetsis nodded.

“Good. The less they get in the way, the better. I have come to tell you that we are reorganizing Plasma slightly. All of the Goddesses will have a personal aid. The other sages say it will help you lot to focus on other things. Do you have any personal preference that will help you work more efficiently?” She considered for a moment.

“There is an admin that helps me on occasion. I believe his name is Admin Irving. He works quickly and efficiently.” Ghetsis nodded.

“I will inform him of his new posting by 2 PM. Continue with your little distraction devices.” He turned and walked out of the room. She exhaled. She sat down and got to work once more. When she finished, she headed downstairs to give all of the students their stuff. She was happy to see their faces, especially with their smiles. She asked the parents to come down to the conference room at 4:30, and continued on her way.

Ghetsis was extremely irate by the 2 PM meeting, so everyone said nothing for the duration of the meeting.

“As of today, all of the grunts and admins currently in this room have been reassigned to help the Goddesses with their work. You are to report to them immediately. Dismissed.” They were all handed a folder. Each contained the names of the Goddess they were helping. Some people were assigned the same Goddess, some were alone in their duties. The group of admins and grunts scurried off to find their new bosses. Irving looked at the report for quite some time. It had a picture of Anthea in it, which he assumed to be for reference. He went upstairs to her quarters. He knew she would be there. She used them as her study as well. He knocked on the door.

“Enter.” He turned the doorknob.

“Reporting for duty ma’am.” She didn’t even look up. 

“So he actually did listen to my request. A welcome change.” His heart beat a little faster.

“Yes ma’am. Lord Ghetsis was curious as to why you only requested one person.”

“It was to increase our efficiency. As far as I am concerned, that could be any number of things. Whether that means helping me carry things so I don’t have to run around the castle, or if it means helping me stay focused.” She stood up, stretching as she did. “I am sorry for my appearance. I have not slept well for quite some time.”

“You look fine ma’am.”

“Thank you. I would like you to help me move some things downstairs. I have a meeting with a bunch of parents in 2 hours.”

“Yes ma’am.” The two grabbed boxes of papers and started hauling them downstairs. Anthea stopped for a moment, breathing heavily. She leaned against a wall before nearly falling over. Irving caught her but dropped everything he was carrying. “Ma’am!”

“I am sorry. I seem to have overexerted myself. I have a rather weak heart you see. Give me a few minutes.”

“No ma’am. Very clearly you should not be doing this.” He scanned the area and saw two grunts walking by. “You two, what are you doing right now?”

“We are not under any orders currently sir.”

“Good. You are going to help Lady Anthea to the doctor. She nearly collapsed. You are going to help me carry these down to the conference room. Move.” 

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Sorry ma’am. My job is to guarantee you stay efficient. You aren’t going to be very efficient if you drop dead from a heart attack. Move! That’s an order!” They started going, the admin’s voice ringing with authority. Anthea felt quite silly. She knew she shouldn’t have done that, and her exhaustion wouldn’t have helped things either. When the grunt got her there, she saluted and went off. The Goddess waited for the doctor alone. There was no one else in the waiting room. The doctor came out.

“Lady Anthea. What seems to be the issue today?”

“I overexerted myself and my assistant insisted I get my heart checked just to be safe.” They walked into the checkup room and he put his stethoscope to her chest.

“What were you doing?”

“Moving boxes of books. I told him I was fine, but he insisted.”

“Smart man. Your heart rate is very high, and that is dangerous. Especially for you. You will have to remain here for about half an hour so I can monitor in case of any emergency.” She nodded and leaned back in the chair. Several minutes later, and there was a knock on the door. The doctor opened it and the admin walked in. He stood at attention.

“Ma’am. Everything has been moved to the conference room. Do you have any further orders?”

“No. I request that you stay here for the moment though. The doctor here is only here to make sure I’m okay, and it is quite dull in here.”

“Yes ma’am.” He pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Do you have any siblings Irving?” The question caught him off guard. As did the fact she called him by first name instead of in formalality.

“Yes ma’am.”

“You do not need to call me ma’am. It gets irritating to listen to. Just call me Anthea. Unless Ghetsis is nearby, of course. Anyway, would you describe them for me?” He nodded.

“Well there’s buddy, he’s my little brother. He’s autistic but he’s the sweetest little guy. He’s great at math, but struggles to communicate with people. There’s also Emily. She’s hard working, but she can only do so much to support my family. My older sister was named Natalie, but she died because of some guy. She worked at a club. I didn’t like it, but it was how she was paying for college.”

“I am sorry. The memory must not be pleasant.”

“It isn’t, but I like to think she at least gave me door to a better life. I take it you’re thinking about your brother?”

“Yes. I miss him.” Irving sat for a moment.

“Ma’a- Anthea, would you describe N for me? I always wondered what was going on in his head. He always seemed so focused. Driven.”

“He is. He used to protect the Goddesses from Ghetsis. Usually me and Concordia, because we are his sisters. He did protect the others though. It was so scary, but N just kind of figured it as part of life. Whatever made him leave must have been something horrific, or beautiful.” He nodded.

“Something has been bothering me. Yesterday, I completely overstepped my bounds. You looked to be in pain, but that was not acceptable for me to do.” She stopped him.

“Perhaps not. I certainly didn’t mind however. N used to tell me I needed to relax, and finding ways to do so is difficult for me. I cannot do things like sports. I am always looking for something to relax me. If that means we need to break the ‘normal conduct’ of Plasma, so be it.”

“Still, if Lord Ghetsis were to find out-”

“I would take full responsibility. Do not worry. It will be fine.” The doctor came in.

“You are free to go Lady Anthea. Admin, I thank you for sending her here. Here.” Anthea tried to get a look at it.

“What is that?”

“It’s a card that allows me to overrule you on matters concerning your health.” She stood up as he connected the card to his lanyard. She walked out of the room and he followed.

“I don’t understand why everyone makes such a big deal of this.”

“Because it is life threatening. Perhaps you should be more careful. Avoid taking beatings and whatnot.”

“I don’t really have a choice in the matter.”

“Well, that’ll have to change. Has this gotten worse recently?”

“Yes. Anything that involves adrenaline is dangerous to me. Perhaps I should spend some time out of the Castle.”

“That sounds like a good plan. I can recommend you some places to go when you’re out and about.” Anthea giggled.

“It looks like I have my own little guardian!” He blushed slightly. The two walked over to the meeting room and waited there. He stayed at the meeting, standing near Anthea. The meeting started a few minutes later, and it was obvious that Anthea was not doing great. She had notes, but was struggling to read them. Irving decided to help out. He grabbed the notes from her gently and started to read them. He was plenty loud so that everyone could hear him. He described in great detail the plan for the next three weeks. How school would work. When he finished, he dismissed the meeting and sat down at the table. He noticed Anthea was crying.

“For 7 years, I have done this. Since I was 17, and now I can’t even get a sentence out!”

“Hey, you’re just tired. Fatigue tends to do that. Perhaps you just need rest.” There was a sharp knock at the door and all of the sages walked in. Anthea stood up, as did the admin. He stepped aside and saluted as Ghetsis walked by. He was obviously in a bad mood. Anthea moved out of the way and tried to avoid looking Ghetsis in the eye.

“Anthea, how many times have I told you not to do that?”

“Do what lord Ghetsis?”

“Avoid eye contact. You persist at it, despite knowing it annoys me.” He raised his hand to strike her, but the admin stepped up.

“Sir, she is just tired. During her entire meeting, she was struggling to keep eye contact, speak, or even read. She is not trying to aggravate you.” Ghetsis looked at the admin.

“Why exactly did you decide that this involved you?”

“Because sir, my job is to make sure Lady Anthea is at her most efficient. Anytime she has to go to the hospital, she becomes less efficient. She has already been having heart issues today. She needs rest.” He considered it before smiling with an evil grin that sent chills up Anthea’s spine, but did not affect the admin whatsoever.

“Very well admin. Continue on.” He nodded before walking out with Anthea. They walked in silence for a few minutes.

“Calm down.” Anthea looked up at him, confused. “I can hear your breathing getting heavier.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. You could have been hurt.”

“Had I not, you would have been. You are more important than me. You did nothing wrong to deserve that beating. If he had hit me, at least it would have been for stepping out of line. You need to worry less about me. I am one person.” They reached the stairs. 

“I’m taking the elevator.”

“Okay. Good night. When and where do you want me to report in the morning?”

“My quarters. 8 AM.”

“Yes ma- Anthea. I’m sorry. I’m used to being formal. I’ll get it down as soon as I can.” She smiled and went up. She liked that he was trying. She went to bed, resting for the first time in two days.

When Anthea woke up, she felt very comfortable. She didn’t really want to get out of bed. She dragged herself out of bed and got ready. She brushed her hair and teeth, took a shower, brushed her hair again, and heard a knock at the door. 

“Enter!” The door opened and she realized something. She didn’t have any of her stuff. It was all sitting on her bed. 

“Anthea?” It was Irving. That would be awkward. Anthea wasn’t as uneducated in that department as her younger brother, but she certainly wasn’t about to walk into a room with a man her age wearing nothing. She didn’t even have a towel.

“This is awkward. Irving, could you turn toward the wall for a minute dear?”

“Of course.” He turned, realizing she was probably in the nude. He wanted to look, but his conscience kept him firmly planted there. Anthea grabbed her clothes and towel and ran back to the bathroom. She dried off, brushed her hair again, and put her dress on. She walked out, ready to go. 

“How do I look?” He turned back around.

“Great! So, what are my orders for today Anthea?”

“Today. I don’t know. How about we take a walk and I can figure it out on the way?” He nodded. She walked out of the room and he followed, softly closing the door.

“Why are you up so early? Not even the other Goddesses seem to be up.”

“Concordia is. I do not know what she is doing, but she is awake. All three of Ghetsis’ children wake up at 7:30. He made a point of that.” Irving nodded. He looked at the Goddess from head to toe. She looked very good. The poofy dress made it a little hard to tell, but she had a great body.

“What do you do on days you aren’t working?”

“Oh, I write my book. I doubt it’ll ever get published, I don’t have contact outside of the castle, but it is fun.”

“You’re an author? Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Yes. I cannot cook to save my life. Whenever we would go out of the castle, N would be the one to cook the meals. I am 5 years his senior, but he is still good at so many things I can’t even get a grasp on.” The young woman sighed. She wondered what N was doing. Little did she know, he was sitting with his lover, reading a children’s book out loud. She sighed again. They spent the rest of the day helping other Plasma members with their jobs. When Anthea and Irving finished, she requested that he escort her to her quarters. When they got there, she smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. He was so genuinely surprised that when he left the room, he stood there for a few minutes, contemplating.

4 weeks passed. The two became close friends and she began to trust him a bit more. It was nice that Anthea had someone she could talk to. She wouldn’t complain to any Goddess. Not even her own sister. With Irving, she could speak her mind while they worked. It wasn’t much, but it was nice. She felt genuinely fine with Irving, and he gave her a piece of mind. They were sitting in her room one night, doing paperwork.

“Irving dear, would you come here a moment?”

“Of course. What did you need?”

“I wish to talk.” He looked over her shoulder, and he noted she had been crying. The soft spoken Goddess was weeping lightly.

“What’s wrong?” She hugged him, and he hesitantly hugged her back.

“I do not want to do this anymore. I am so tired. I want to stop being beaten, to stop having to worry about my students. I am in my early twenties, but I will not make it much farther at this rate.” She held her friend tightly. “I don’t want to die here.” He held her. She cried herself to sleep in his arms. He carried her to her bed and walked out.

When the Goddess awoke in the morning, she looked around. Her chest hurt, and she was having a hard time breathing. She grabbed clothes and went to take a shower. She sat in the shower, feeling a little better. She heard a knock on the door. She tried to speak up, but it hurt to do that.

“Ent-. Enter!” She was in quite a bit of pain.

“Anthea. You and the Goddesses are to report to the meeting room as quickly as possible.” It was Ghetsis. She slightly freaked out.

“Yes sir.” When she finished her shower, she got dressed and did her hair. She walked to the elevator, but was feeling very light headed.

‘Goodness, I need to sit down.’ She walked out of the elevator, and nearly fell down. ‘I have to get to the meeting room.’ She hurried there, but when she got there, everyone was already sitting. No one said a thing as Anthea sat down. Concordia leaned over to her.

“Sister, are you alright?” She nodded.

“Yes. Merely a little unwell.” The meeting continued for the next 2 hours. It all seemed a little unnecessary to Anthea. She couldn’t really focus, and her heartbeat seemed strangely loud. By the time it was over, her breathing was extremely labored. She attempted to get up, almost fell, and straightened out. She cursed at herself for being so clumsy. She started walking again, and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor coughing. Blood was spurting out, and she was starting to lose consciousness. The other Goddesses and sages rushed to her aid, and the world faded for Anthea. 

Irving sat at the window of Anthea’s room. There were doctors rushing about, and she was hooked up to all sorts of machinery. It hurt to see her like this. He hadn’t seen her all morning, and now she was lying there, comatose. He sort of blamed himself, Ghetsis, the other Sages, the Goddesses. None of them had been able to stop this from happening.

“Admin?” He turned. It was Concordia, Anthea’s blonde sister. He turned back to the window.

“Yes ma’am?” His voice wavered slightly.

“Why are you here?”

“I have nowhere else to be. I don’t intend on leaving either, regardless if you plan to order me to or not.” 

“I take it you aren’t taking this well?”

“No.”

“If I may ask, why is it you sound so… shall we say spiteful?”

“Permission to speak freely?”

“Granted.”

“Anthea is my friend. I let her down, but I am not the only one. Ghetsis, you, the other Goddesses, the Sages. None of us stopped this from happening.”

“It is terminal. This you know. So you must mean that we are the reason for her rapid deterioration.”

“Yes. It isn’t really speculation either. She is never given help, she never takes breaks, and she is always going at whatever it is she needs to get done full force. I know for a fact that she has taken multiple days of your work so you could go out of the castle with friends.” Concordia hung her head. Anthea had never told her it was too much, but she should have figured it out. “I have had too many people die already. Family, friends, everyone. I will not lose her too. If that means insubordination, then I will no longer be the ‘perfect officer’ anymore.”

“That isn’t your responsibility.”

“Oh? So tell me Lady Concordia, whose is it? Anthea won’t stop, you and the Goddesses have failed her, Ghetsis puts enormous pressure on her, and the sages are no help either. My family needs help sometimes. When they do, I bend over backwards so they can live their lives. Your family has stood by and watched her destroy herself. So who is left but me to be responsible? At least if I am, I can say I tried. Perhaps none of you understand that concept.” He went silent, staring at Anthea. She was stable, but he knew not for how long she would live. He turned toward the door to the doctor’s office. He decided he was going to start with his new responsibilities at that moment. He walked out to go talk to the head doctor. Concordia followed, curious as to what the man was doing.

“Admin Irving. Can I help you?”

“Yes. I would like authorization to override all sages and Goddesses except for Lord Ghetsis on matters concerning Anthea Harmonious’ health.” He raised an eyebrow.

“That’s a tall order son.”

“I know. I also know that if I can have that, I can help Anthea keep as healthy as possible as long as possible.” The doctor considered it.

“Okay. We will brief them all on the situation in the morning. In the meantime, I’ll need your help writing a report.” He nodded.

When Anthea woke up from her small coma 3 days later, she was met with Admin Irving next to her, reading a book. She smiled.

“Hey Irving.” He looked up and a small smile formed at his lips.

“Look who’s back with us at the land of the living. How do you feel?”

“My chest hurts.”

“Well, that would make sense. You’ve been out a couple of days.”

“Well, I need to catch up on things then.”

“No.”

“Excuse me? I outrank you.”

“Yes, but I am under orders from the doctor to keep you here. The other Goddesses will be dealing with things for some time.”

“But-”

“No buts. It isn’t befitting of a Goddess to use such language.” She giggled at his little joke. “Besides, you aren’t allowed to go out anywhere for 2 more days. You getting sick could kill you in very little time.” She reached her hand out and he took it. He was wearing gloves, but his hand was still warm to touch.

“What should I do now?”

“Rest. You putting any further strain on yourself would be imprudent.” She closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her pink hair was a slight mess.

“I miss N. When this sort of thing would happen, he used to sing an old lullaby that Mom used to sing.” He nodded.

“Well, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll ask some old friends about it. They owe me some favors, and I might get something.” 

“You would?!”

“Absolutely. IF you promise to follow the doctor’s orders to the letter. No work, nothing. If something needs to get done, it goes to me. Deal?” She looked super excited.

“Thank you! I thought I would never get anything on him!” She leaned forward and kissed his lips. She leaned back, embarrassed. “Sorry. That was improper.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be back in a few hours. I expect you to be doing something relaxing when I get back.” She nodded. She was still flushed, but it also was something she had wanted to do for a bit now. She sat there for hours, bored out of her mind. When he came back, she made small talk with him. She couldn’t sleep, so he got her some tea. Over the next few days, she talked to no one but him. A few days later, she was in her room reading when he knocked. When he came in, he looked exhausted. She had him sit down on her bed and got him some water.

“You need to rest.”

“Nah. It was only some boxes. Give me a second, I’ll be right as rain.”

“And they say I’m stubborn.” She grabbed his hand, the cold winter air had made her hands rather chilly. That was at least her excuse for it. They blushed as they sat there, holding hands.

“You are.” He looked her in the eyes. “But hey, as long as that stubborn part of you isn’t getting you hurt, it’s very endearing.”

“Do you truly believe so?”

“Yeah. It’s not a good thing if you just bow your head at everything. Standing up for things, it’s a huge part of life.” She rested her head on his shoulder. 

“Then perhaps you would hear my request?”

“Of course.”

“I wish for you to tell me what you think of me. As a person. If I wasn’t your commanding officer, what would you think of me?”

“Well, you’re a beautiful, slightly clumsy young woman who tries her hardest at everything. Even when she knows it will hurt her. Determined is a word I could use. So you’re a determined, beautiful, kind woman. Now if I may ask, what do you think of me?”

“You are a very kind soul. You are also very professional. Almost to the point where you are more disciplined than anyone else in Plasma. You are caring, despite knowing that in the end, it doesn’t really matter.” He sighed.

“It does matter.” She smiled. She didn’t really agree, but his opinion was just as valid as hers. 

“How much does it matter? To you that is.”

“More than anything else.” She tipped his head toward her, kissing him once again. She pulled away, looking slightly coy.

“Are you willing to go further, or would you prefer we stay as friends?” He wrapped his arm around her.

“I wouldn’t mind being with someone like you.” They kissed again, the close friends locking lips once more. She pulled out some condoms. He looked a little concerned.

“Is it too much for your heart?”

“No. If anything, it’ll help me relax.” Anthea was taught by her mother how it was supposed to work, and she was quite curious about it. She put the condom on him after pulling his cock out. It had been dark for quite some time, and Anthea had soundproof walls. She was a very light sleeper, and the noise the others made at night were quite loud. No one was going to notice them. She laid him down and locked the door. She pulled down her panties and mounted him. Her dress covered her crotch, but both could feel his cock sliding into her. The girl was slightly unsure of what to do, so he took charge, bucking into her slightly. It made her lightly moan, so he continued. She took charge, wiggling her hips. While she did that, he lifted her dress to fully expose her. She held it up, since it was obvious he wanted to see her. Eventually, they came. She came a bit early, and when he came, she smiled. She was obviously happy that he felt so good, and she felt fantastic. She looked down to see the white fluid dripping down his leg onto her bed. She found herself staring at the white liquid. It dripped down from the rubber covering. It was thick, but not still dripped like water. She touched the white fluid and spread it between her fingers. She moaned as she felt him grow back to full size inside of her. How she wanted to know what it felt like without the accursed rubber piece. She pulled him out of her and laid down next to him. She wanted more, but wasn’t sure how to ask. He stood up and placed it at her entrance.

“May I?”

“Yes, you may. But first…” She pulled off the condom, the cum in it spilling out. “I want to know what it feels like. Just please, don’t finish inside.”

“Your wish is my command.” He pushed into her, letting the Goddess experience it in its full glory. His soft flesh made all the worry melt away. He gently went, knowing not to be too rough. She was fragile, and the woman seemed fine with the slow pace. When he felt it coming, he pulled out and cum sprayed onto her stomach. She leaned her head back. 

“That felt excellent. I am exhausted now.” She kissed his cheek. “To think today was the day I was to lose my virginity.”

“And to think that today, I would have the honor of pleasuring a Goddess. The best one matter of fact.” She giggled and he kissed her on the cheek.

“May we do it again later?”

“Yes, but not for a few days. Shall I report at the same time tomorrow?”

“Yes please.” He tidied up, making sure no one would suspect a thing.

“Good night Anthea. Sleep tight.”

“Pleasant dreams to you Irving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to pick Anthea to be the one with the heart condition because I like her more than Concordia, and it puts her in the perfect position for some other stuff down the line. I wanted to change her from being an extremely minor character from B/W/B2/W2, into a more prominent character that can actually be of major impact to the story.


	21. Medication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko is forced to get help by N, and Anthea expresses her concerns to her secret lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Touko! Come on!” Bianca beckoned Touko forward. They were in Castelia, spending a day together. Touko had Elpis out on her shoulder and was walking to her energetic friend. Bianca had decided they should go to Castelia, mostly because she wanted to go shopping with Touko. As they spent time together, she realized she didn’t really know much of anything about her friend. She kind of wanted to change that, so she figured the best way to go about doing that was seeing what she would buy. She didn’t know that Touko was always buying so little. She and Touko went into the store, and when they came out, she realized that Touko had bought two things. A teddy bear for Aurora, and a small trinket that Elpis had apparently liked. She raised her eyebrow at her friend.

“What? Did I do something strange?”

“Yeah! We went through an entire department store, and you bought two things! Neither of which was for you!”

“Is that weird?”

“Yes! Do you never get anything for yourself?”

“Not really.”

“Why not?” Touko thought for a minute before shrugging.

“I honestly have no clue. Hey, we should go see if they have Castelia cones!” The two walked over and realized they didn’t have any. They settled for some normal ice cream. Bianca got chocolate, and Touko got strawberry. They sat there talking for a bit. Touko still wasn’t entirely comfortable with it, but it was nice to be able to spend time with Bianca’s nice side.

“So Touko, what’re you and N gonna do now? It seems like you don’t really have plans.”

“We’re going to stay with my parents a couple more months until the next gym opens, and then we’re going to challenge that one!”

“Is N going to? Given his dislike of battling?”

“I don’t think so. He wants me to try for a modeling position though.”

“Why?”

“Because I said I was gonna try, and then I chickened out.”

“You didn’t go for it?”

“No. I looked at all the girls signing up for it, and decided that I had no shot. That I wasn’t going to waste my time. He keeps saying it’s all in my head, but I don’t know…”

“Well, he does give very good advice. When I asked him what kind of thing I should get Iris for Christmas, he told me that I shouldn’t be asking him, but her what she wanted. It was kind of vague, but it helped me a little anyway. Besides, you look better than any of the models on the show!”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yep!” Touko shook her head.

“ Insanus mulier. I am nothing compared to any of those girls. They’re all professionals. I’m not.” Bianca huffed. She knew Touko had in some facet just called her insane. 

“We’re going to talk to N about that. And for the record, if anyone is crazy, it’s you. What do you see in those girls? They’re all slutty attention whores.”

“I see lots of things. They’re nice looking. I’m mediocre.”

“I disagree. Come on, there has to be some way to convince you that you’re beautiful.”

“Listen Bianca, I’m really not sure I’ll ever believe that. If N thinks I am, that’s his tastes. I just hope he never thinks someone else is beautiful to the point where he wants to replace me…” She pulled her hat down, making sure to hide her crying from Bianca. She walked over to her, the park bench they were sitting on making her move around a bit so she could actually see Touko’s face.

“He’s not just with you because of looks. Although, he does really like yours. He’s also with you because you're a genuinely nice, caring person! Come on, give yourself some credit! You’ve done things no sane person would ever do!” Touko just kept looking down. She was always worrying about things. The psychiatrist said she suffered from severe anxiety and depression, and Touko knew he was right. She had always done it, where she would just sort of blank, but now it happened more often. Only a few people could really get her out of it, and those people were N, her mother, and her father. She had started to have real issues with lots of things. She had kind of distanced herself from most of the world. She talked very little with Bianca and Iris, she never went to go see any of the people she knew, and she really only spent time with N and her pokemon. It was almost like she was afraid of the world lashing out at her after the incident with Cheren months ago. Most of everything revolved around the points she felt like she could have some semblance of control with. Like if she let anyone else in, she would just get hurt again. Bianca called N and told him that Touko was doing it again, so he came and picked her up. He was unsure of what caused it, but he was beginning to wonder if she needed to be medicated for it. She hated the idea, but he didn’t want to see her suffer. He put her on the bed and let her rest. He walked back down the stairs.

“Another episode?”

“Yes. This is getting rather serious. I know she doesn’t want to be medicated, but I don’t want her doing this when she’s doing something like flying or climbing. It could be hazardous.”

“I know. Convincing her is the hard part. She thinks it a sign of weakness if she can’t deal with something.”

“She is wrong.”

“Yes, I know. Tell me N, did you know that I have a chronic illness?”

“What?”

“Yes. It is an infection of the blood. Both her father and I have it.”

“Does she?”

“No. We got it after she was born, and she has tested negative for it. It was from cuts we had gotten in an abandoned ruin. The place was decontaminated, but still, the scars remain. Touko doesn’t know about it, but I was hoping it would be enough to convince her.”

“That perhaps medication wouldn’t be so bad?”

“Whatever she has isn’t chronic. Well, the anxiety is. The lapsing in and out of coherence is not. The doctor said it was sort of Touko’s brain overloading itself. She says the thing with Cheren didn’t do much long term damage, but it will have if we don’t stop it now. Ideas?”

“We will bring Touko to the doctor tomorrow. Perhaps therapy will help her. It has certainly helped me.” Touko’s mom considered.

“Good planning.”

“Why didn’t you bring her to therapy sooner?”

“I. I thought she would be fine. Years ago, my father told me that therapists and the like weren’t out to help people, but that they were there to keep people coming back. I didn’t want that, so I didn’t send her.” She hung her head in shame. “My father was a bad man. He did… unspeakable things to my mom. That’s why I was born. He’s the reason I stay away from Touko. I don’t want the side of him to come out. Why I never make her do things like that. I don’t want to be that overbearing parent that controls someone’s life. She’s been scarred enough, but I’ve made it worse.” N put his hand on her shoulder.

“I understand. My father is like that. He controlled my mother. She apparently couldn’t have friends over or anything. When I was still… part of that, I just thought he was doing it to protect her. Now I see he was doing it to keep her trapped.” He sighed. “By god if he hurts my sisters.”

“Your sisters?”

“Yes. One of them has a heart condition. It is terminal. She always said she wanted to find her own person. Someone that would stay by her side even though her demise was inevitable. I want to see her again, but it would put her in immense danger.”

“N… what are you? What were you before you became Touko’s friend?” N tensed up slightly.

“You would not have me if you knew. I do not wish to be separated from Touko.” She shook her head.

“My father was a pimp. He sold girls on the street. Whatever you were, I will not judge you for it.”

“Very well. I was the King of Team Plasma. I led the group that Touko opposes.” She sat there for a moment, awestruck. “And now you see why I never told you. I am aware. I am less than human for leading them.”

“N-no! You’re not! Okay, you led a terrorist organization in the past. But you were strong enough to make amends. That’s the important thing! You recognized that in the end, you were wrong, so you tried to fix it! Touko certainly doesn’t mind the whole thing, and as long as she wants you in her life, which lets face it, she loves you very dearly, you aren’t going to be hated on or anything like that! What does your sister look like?”

“Here.” He slid her a picture of the Goddess. “If you happen to see her, long shot as it is, say ‘Natural is searching’ and she’ll figure it out. It was something I used to say when we were younger. Thank you.” She nodded. It was the least she could do for this man.

“What do you plan to do?”

“I will stay with Touko. If fate wills that we be reunited, my sisters will find me. For now, Touko needs me to be here. She’s going to need help getting it out during her sessions.” He bowed slightly and went up to Touko’s room. She was awake, but staring at the ceiling. “Hey Touko. How’re you feeling?”

“Living the dream.”

“You have very strange dreams. Ones that involve a lot of crying.” He gently wiped the tears off of her face. “Tomorrow, you’re starting therapy. If that doesn’t work, we’ll start you on medication.”

“I don’t want to be on meds. I like being me.”

“The medication doesn’t take any part of you away. It just suppresses the issues so you can work on them more effectively.” He kissed her on the forehead. “You need to get help. It is clear that this is no longer a case of simple issues.”

“I don’t want to look weak in front of you guys.” N sighed. He decided that he would use his newly acquired info to give Touko a push.

“Who would think any less of you for that? Your parents are both on medication, and your mother says she wishes she had sent you to therapy.” 

“What?”

“Your mother and I talked about it. Both her and your father have chronic blood illnesses caused by something in the ruins they were exploring.” Touko looked at him, and yielded. Not just because of the new info, but because he was giving her puppy eyes. She could resist them on occasion, but not now.

“When do I start?”

“12:30. Now, go to sleep. We have a long couple of weeks ahead of us.”

Over the next few weeks, Touko went to therapy. It was painful, but she swallowed her pride and got medicated. On her birthday, Doctor Fennel and both Professor Junipers knocked on her door. She recognized them very quickly, not having trouble identifying the renowned researchers. She had been watching a game of chess between N and her mother. She had gotten her ass thoroughly kicked last game, and he was holding back. She let the professors in and they observed for a moment.

“Quite the chess player, isn’t he?”

“He’s deductively brilliant. He knows exactly what to do the moment you move. Some chess games last hours, but he could probably beat you all at once.”

“Three on one? Aurea, is your assistant here challenging us?”

“It seems so.” They let the two finish up their game and sat down. Touko got them all something to drink, and the game started. They were using a very large chessboard, so they set out three on one numbers and got started. N started by playing defensively, and then switching to aggressive play when he got the chance. By the hour mark, N had swept all three players off the board. He took Aurea Juniper’s king, and the game was over. They had seemed to be winning, when he pulled a surprise. They really hadn’t even noticed that he was sneaking toward their kings. He had realized that their three on one advantage meant they would have trouble focusing on any one piece. He had swept five of six knights, all six bishops, all three queens, 19 of the 24 pawns, and all three kings. They were completely awestruck.

“How?”

“Your tunnel vision mixed with overconfidence.You had 42 pieces on your side. I had 14. It was much easier for me to lull you into a false sense of security. It seemed as though you were getting close, but you had only eliminated 4 pieces of mine. Neither my queen nor my king was taken. It made it easier to focus on getting past your pieces and to your kings.” The professors looked at it for a moment. Touko walked over.

“Told you so. He’s unstoppable when it comes to these things. He picked her up and placed her on his lap. “So, what did you guys need?”

“Well my daughter here came to wish you a happy birthday, and we decided to come along. Not everyday a hero gets a birthday celebration!” Touko shied back a bit. She was touchy on the Reshiram issue. “That, and I wished to give you something. It is something I have wished to know where was for decades. When I found it, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Then Aurea told me tales of her young friend taming a dragon of fire! ‘Such a feat!’ I thought to myself. When I thought on it further. It confused me, so I asked Alder. The champion told me that whoever the girl was that had proven herself to the dragon of truth was certainly capable of wielding the two dragons in tandem. He asked that I tell you to find him, and that he very much wished to meet you.” He handed her a small metal box with a black stone in it. It had blue running through it. She tried to give it to N, but he refused to take it.

“That is for you and you alone. Though, I will be coming with you this time. Last time did not end well.” Touko nodded. She put the stone in a safe place in her room. She went back down to see that Aurea was questioning N.

“So, can you really talk to them like Touko can?”

“Yes. We often talk to our pokemon about many things.”

“So, are you a trainer?”

“Sort of. I don’t really battle, but I do other things.”

“Like what?”

“I help injured pokemon in the woods recover. Touko and I have a spot set up for them, and we have been thinking about setting up some sort of adoption center.” The older Juniper spoke up.

“An admirable goal. I believe I can help with that, should you need it.”

“It is quite possible. It is quite the task. Still, the pokemon that are abandoned there should not be left alone. I used to believe they should be left to their own devices, but Touko has taught me otherwise. With her help, I have a ‘team’ of pokemon. Not nearly as powerful as hers, but in the end, can anyone really compare to her in this? Just like anything else, the answer is a solid no.” They chatted for a bit, Touko helping her mother make a cake. Dr Fennel pulled out her Munna, only for Touko to flinch at the memory.

“Touko?”

“Please Dr Fennel. I don’t have good memories with Munna.” She put her friend away, not having meant to do anything wrong.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay. Just please, don’t pull her out near me.” Touko’s pokemon eventually had it explained to them. During one of her therapy sessions, she was told it would help. She pulled out her pokemon and explained it all. She stopped hiding the truth. Her pokemon understood and gave her lots of support. It made sense to all of them why Touko had chosen to hide it. She didn’t want the other to suffer with that. The sight of Munna and Musharna still gave her problems though. Eventually the three shook everyone’s hands and Fennel apologized to Touko again before they left. Touko sat down, deep in thought. She grabbed N’s arm and the two went up to her room. Touko’s mom sat there, waiting for the cake to finish. She heard creaking and some muffled moans.

“Those two sure get along in bed real well. I wonder what frosting she wants. I guess I’ll have to wait until she’s done with her first little treat to ask her.” She smiled. Elpis was on the doorknob watching through the crack the frisky lovers left in the door. She was on her knees, and he had his hand on her hips. She was moaning and he was just thrusting into her. The whole thing confused Elpis. Touko seemed to enjoy N’s dominancy, but when she had seen Bianca and Iris do it while Touko and N made dinner, they seemed to be neutral. She didn’t really didn’t get why Touko was so submissive. She would beg N to keep going, she would slide him into her, he tied her up and she would just wait expectantly. She had asked Aurora about their strange behaviors, and Aurora had said it changed from person to person and day to day. Touko just really enjoyed experiencing it. Even if she had to give N total control. Aurora theorized she liked it more that way, since she was always having N do that kind of stuff to her. The legendary surmised that it seemed to make Touko feel like she was in control of the loss of control. When the two came down, Ms White was sitting at the table reading a magazine. Touko looked at her mother’s reading choice.

“Oh, more gossip magazines? Good choice!” The doorbell rang. As Touko ran to go get it, she opened it and looked down.

“Hi! What did you need?”

“Hi! I’m with the Unova reporters committee! We came here because it’s rumored that the hero of the dragon Reshiram lives in this town!”

“Don’t believe rumors like that. This town is the most god-awful boring town in Unova.” The reporter thanked her and walked away. Touko didn’t really mind lying about that. She didn’t want people knowing her address. The whole of Unova was already going crazy, and it was because of her. She wanted no part of it. She kissed N and put her jacket on. They were going to the restaurant in Striaton, and Touko thought it to be a little cold for just a long sleeve shirt. She walked out into the town with N and her mom. She put a couple of letters in the mailbox and headed off. One was to her father, and the other was to Red. When they got to the Striaton gym, they pulled up their reservation number and went in. Inside they found a bunch of smaller tables and chairs. It was a packed room, with about a hundred tables, many of which had huge and impressive families. Ms White leaned over to her daughter.

“Filios habentem et opus prohibere.” Touko laughed at her mother’s little remark. N was just confused, as always.

“What’s so funny?”

“She said they need to stop having children. Look at that family. It’s freaking huge!” He nodded. Touko had told him that pregnancy could be dangerous sometimes. They must have been either very brave, or very stupid. There were nearly 20 children, with the oldest being around 12. They ordered their food and as they were eating, all three gym leaders battled in the background. The leaders were doing very well that night. There were some close matches, and it was great fun to watch. N and Touko spent most of their time paying attention to each other, but Touko did back up a little whenever Chili came out. The thick layer of glass made it impossible for fire to reach her, but it still made her feel a little sick. They enjoyed their food, and made their way back outside. When they got back to Nuvema, there was a small crowd at their door. It was an entire anchor crew, cameras and everything.

“Do y’all mind?” N looked at Touko. Her father’s speech sometimes reared its head from her.

“We’re here for an interview with the hero!”

“Yeah!”

“Why are you people always so damn insistent on this? THE. HERO. DOES. NOT. LIVE. HERE. GO. AWAY.”

“But she does, and she’s talking to us right now! We just want an interview!”

“And I don’t want my name and address out there for the world to see. I have enough reasons to be in therapy right now. Thanks though.”

“We won’t give out your name or your address!”

“I SAID NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!” The edge in her voice made the group back off. The three went inside.

“Geez. All we wanted was an interview!”

“Yes, but she clearly doesn’t want to give you that.” A man walked up.

“Boss!”

“I said ‘if she was willing to give’ which she clearly isn’t. interview others about her. No names or locations. Not even a hint to it. Understand?” He dismissed them and knocked on the door. A tall, green haired man answered.

“Yes?”

“I wished to apologize for my reporters… shall we say stupidity in this matter? They were instructed to get an interview if she was willing to provide. Not by any means necessary. Perhaps this will make up for it?” He handed him some kind of device.

“What is this thing?”

“It is something known as a Pokegear. I have friends from Hoenn that modified it for use in Unova. It has many functions, and I assume she will put it to good use. Good day.” The man turned and walked away, leaving N standing there. He closed the door and handed Touko the device.

“What’s this?”

“An apology from the man in charge of those people. It came with instructions, so you’d better read those later.” She nodded before putting the device on the table. She motioned for N to sit down. She grabbed her brush and started to run it down his green hair. He didn’t know why, but she seemed to really enjoy it. When she finished, he turned and ran his fingers through her hair. She melted into it, purring at it. She got a little drowsy, and eventually fell asleep. Her mother smiled.

“She must be very tired. I’ll bring out the gifts.” N nodded, still stroking her soft hair. When they got ready, N kissed Touko on the forehead gently to wake her. She woke up with a smile, looking at N’s eyes.

“Good morning sleepyhead. Are you ready to open presents?” She nodded before being handed one of several boxes. It had Bianca’s and Iris’ names on it, and it had some gear for pokemon, as well as a small card. She continued opening stuff, groggy as she was. It took her a minute to wake up fully, and she was still tired. She opened stuff from her dad, her mom, Red, the Professor, and eventually, she grabbed the box labeled ‘From N’ and looked at it. She held it to her ear and shook it. “What, did you think I got you a bomb?” She giggled.

“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just very curious?” She pulled out her knife and N stopped her.

“I would request you didn’t do that. It is very delicate.” She looked at him curiously. He hadn’t stopped her when she was shaking the box up and down. She opened it carefully, making sure not to damage the contents of the box. She opened it and squealed. It was a beautiful black and crimson dress with a pair of black, laced gloves. Touko had always wanted dress gloves, but had never known how she should ask for them, or what kind she wanted. These were perfect though. “I had planned to give these to you at Christmas, but I heard there was a festival happening 2 weeks from now, so it felt apt.” She hugged him, tears of joy filling her eyes.

“Thank you N.” She turned to her mom. “And thank you mom.”

“You’re welcome Touko.” Touko sat for a few minutes, smiling at the dress before drifting asleep once more. N picked her up and put her on the bed lightly. She looked to be having a pleasant dream, so he didn’t want to wake her. N walked back to the living room. Ms White was sitting there, sipping her tea. 

“She’s gotten better.” 

“Yes. Her therapist wants her to keep going there for a few more weeks, and then he says that he might be able to take Touko off the medication.” She nodded.

“I was wondering something.”

“Go ahead.”

“So Touko and you, you love each other dearly correct?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“Have you thought about proposing? You guys have been dating for months.” He considered for a moment.

“Yes. I can’t seem to work up the courage to though. When we first rode the ferris wheel, I almost did, but I didn’t have a ring. I still wouldn’t have done it though. I still don’t have a ring, and when I asked Aurora what kind of ring I should get her all I got was it’s a matter of heart. What I feel represents her.”

“Yes, that is true.”

“What I’m not sure about is why it would represent her, and not both of us.”

“Because. The wedding ring represents you both. It bonds you together. The engagement ring symbolizes that you love someone’s qualities. That you would like to marry them, and you want to be bonded with them. It is a level lower, but it is still beyond important.”

“So, how should I propose?”

“That depends. Some people propose around friends to give themselves confidence. Some propose after important things. Many plan it out. Never seems to work out the way they planned it to though. Life is a little turbulent for such things.”

“So, I propose when it feels right, and it’ll work out?”

“Yeah. That’s when I proposed to her father. That was strange. Such a jolly and large fellow. People thought it strange that I was the one to propose, but such is the way of life.” N considered for a moment. He thought back to his game with the three doctors earlier. He wasn’t sure why, but they reminded him of the group that helped clean up the water. They all had their own little flairs. He smiled.

“It seems in the game of life, one cannot choose where all the pieces go.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is something I would use to describe many things. Would you be willing to go somewhere tomorrow with Touko?”

“For how long? And where?”

“Somewhere not near here. Not any of the three major cities close to here either. I have much to do, and it seems prudent to make certain that she knows as little as possible.” She didn’t even have to think before responding.

“Agreed. I’ll bring her to… I don’t know. Actually, I have an idea.” She pulled up her Xtranciever.

“Aurea, I need to ask a favor.”

“What is it Vanessa?”

“I need to get Touko out of the house. Perhaps some fieldwork could be arranged?”

“Certainly! Is her boyfriend also coming along?”

“No. He has… things to do tomorrow.” She nodded.

“Good, because I don’t have enough juice boxes for two of them!” the two laughed. Touko loved juice boxes. She always had, and always would. The two said their goodbyes, and N opened the fridge. He pulled out some things and made Touko a lunch for the next day.

“Dear, Aurea hates it when her assistants bring their own food.”

“She will just have to deal with it then. I refuse to let Touko wander around for hours without food in case she gets hungry.” Ms White nodded, knowing arguing was pointless. N finished up and packed everything. He put it in the fridge and headed to bed, bowing before he left.

In the morning, Touko woke up at 5:00. She wasn’t sure why, and it bothered her. She was still super tired, but she was very cold. She stared at N, his sleep being sort of heavy. She really wanted to hug him. She pulled his arm up and wrapped it around herself. She fell back asleep, his warmth comforting her and making her stop shivering. She was under the blankets, but was still cold because of the February weather.

When N woke up at 7:30, he felt something around his chest and back. It was Touko. She had wrapped herself around him, and she wasn’t letting go. He wondered if it was a nightmare, but wasn’t about to ask, not wanting to wake the girl. He lightly hugged her before letting himself drift back to sleep. 

When their alarm went off at 9:30, Aurora hit the snooze button. The legendary knew the two always talked in the morning, so it just got it out of the way. Touko smiled at her boyfriend.

“You’re so warm in the morning! Especially when it’s so cold!” She squeezed him a little and snuggled closer. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” Ms White opened the door.

“Aurea wanted to know if you would be willing to help with some fieldwork today. Is it okay if I tell her you’ll be right there?”

“Yeah. Just give me a few minutes before you tell her so she doesn’t get impatient.”

“Okay.” She closed the door and Touko snuggled back up to N. Aurora was sprawled out on its favorite teddy bear, a massive one that Touko had won at a fair. It was from a ticket drawing. Elpis, Zorro, and Shell N’s Zoroark were laying in a sort of group, with Elpis on Shell’s back. It was a cold day, and everyone was huddled together for warmth. When Touko got up, she got some clothes on and grabbed her coat. She looked outside. It wasn’t snowy, but it did look very breezy. She grabbed her pokemon and headed out the door. It was very cold, but she was kept warm by tons of clothes. She walked into the lab and the Professor was standing there, waiting. She saw Touko and grabbed two thermoses.

“I made you some hot chocolate. Your mom dropped this off earlier. Like your boyfriend thought I wouldn’t feed you or something!” Touko chuckled.

“Yeah, he probably did think that. He’s a little silly.” She grabbed the thermos and the two headed out. N watched the time. They were going to head out soon, and he needed time. He got onto Braviary, and flew off toward Striaton. He looked around a bit, but found nothing. It wasn’t a big surprise. He was hoping they would have something. He thought about it.

‘What represents Touko? She is courageous, smart, loving, kind. Aquamarine would be a good choice. If I remember correctly from Concordia, they represent courage and good health. Perhaps I should get her one of those.” He went to Castelia, and then to Nimbasa. He looked about until he saw something. It was a strange ring. Almost reflective. He looked at it a bit. It was a silver ring with a white symbol on it.

“Can I help you sir?”

“Yes, can you tell me about this ring?”

“Oh that? It’s one of a kind. It was designed because the owner wanted to make something for someone that felt their soulmate was pure of heart. He says it represents courage, love, and caring people.”

“Is it for sale?”

“Hmm. Let me go ask my manager.” He motioned for someone to watch the store, and he ran to the back. Several minutes later, N was looking at his pokeball. It held his Klinklang. He wondered what the pokemon thought of all of this. 

“Are you the young man who wants to buy the ring I made?” He turned to see a gruff man. He was massive, but was otherwise normal looking.

“Yes sir.”

“And why exactly is that?”

“An engagement ring. I asked about it, and it described her perfectly.”

“How do you figure?”

“She’s always there for her pokemon and her family. She’s the most courageous person I know. She is terrified of a lot, but she’s willing to put down those fears when she needs to. Even if she knows that it might end her, she won’t ever stop until her friends and family are safe.” The man considered for a moment.

“Prove it.” N smiled, happy to prove that she was all of those things.

“Perhaps the dragon of truth will prove to you that she is everything I say she is.” He considered. The man bellowed with laughter.

“Quite! This girl is one who has stayed silent, and here her lover is! In front of me, trying to convince me of her worthiness!” He laughed some more.

“What do you find so funny? You questioned my friend. Were you attempting to insult her, it would be unpleasant for you.” He kept laughing.

“The fact you went so far to show me! You lit up like a Christmas tree when I said to prove it! You didn’t even hesitate! I like you!” He chuckled some more.

“So, how much do you want for it?”

“Let us go with… 4500. It was not easy to make!”

“I see that.” He pulled the money out and paid the man. He got out a small box and put the ring in there with care. He closed it and gave it to N with a receipt. He walked out and headed straight to the house. He had no time to waste.

Irving walked up to the jewelry store. He didn’t know N had been there only 30 minutes prior. The large man that stood at the counter stood up.

“Hello little man! What brings you here today?”

“I’m looking for an engagement ring.”

“Two in one day! First that green haired fellow, and now you!”

“Wait, was his name N?”

“I do not know his name! All I know is that he was partners with the hero!”

“Hero?”

“Yes! The Hero of the dragon Reshiram! Quite a couple they seemed to be!”

“How long ago was he here?”

“Thirty minutes! He was talking to his pokemon about a celebration that him and the Hero were to attend! The little man seemed quite happy about it! Strange. I do not feel as though it was a one sided conversation.”

“What kind of pokemon was it?”

“Red and Black. Big. Fluffy.”

“Zoroark! It was N! Anthea’s gonna be so happy! To think, N is in a relationship with the Hero! Maybe she’ll help him with his ideal!” He did a little dance and turned his attention back to the shopkeeper. “Sorry. I have to be professional so often, it makes it hard to focus when I get excited!”

“No worries! I am simple man! If this news excites you, I welcome it!” He had a very russian accent, much huskier than Irving’s. He looked around for a bit before selecting a ring. He knew they couldn’t be open about it, but he wanted to give Anthea what she had said she always dreamed of. A husband that cared about her. He paid and moved out of the mall. It was about mid afternoon, and now he had what he had come for and more. He was hyped up about it. He flew back to the castle, his pokemon landing at the castle’s upper half. He started to walk toward the door when it swung open to reveal Ghetsis and the Sages. He saluted.

“Why admin, are you out of uniform?”

“I’m off duty sir. I just arrived back at the castle.”

“I see.” Ghetsis walked up and hit him full force in the face. The pain was rather extreme, but he assumed a salute again regardless. “I take it you’ll be on duty within a few minutes?”

“Yes sir. Like I was never gone.”

“Good. Get to it then.” He patted him on the shoulder and walked off. He pulled out his rag. He kept it with him so Anthea could cough into it. She occasionally spat up blood. That was the first time he had ever been struck by Ghetsis. It hurt quite a lot. He looked about to make sure no one was around.

“Fucking psychopath. He hits her like that? His own daughter? What the hell is wrong with him?!” He was absolutely livid. He kept the rag to his face and made it to his room. He got into uniform and cleaned up. His personal intercom went on.

“Admin Irving here.”

“Admin, are you back at the castle?” It was Anthea.

“Yes ma’am.”

“I need your help. One of the sages told me I was needed for a meeting. He is outside my door, and I need your help to prepare.”

“Yes ma’am.” They always talked professionally over intercom, because people could be listening in. He quickly got ready. He stopped the bleeding and hurried upstairs. He saluted the sage and knocked on the door.

“Enter!” He walked in and closed the door. She looked a little panicked. She was coughing, and it was getting harder and harder. Irving rushed over to her side. He held her steady, feeling her pulse. It was decently fast. He had her sit down. He then walked over to the door.

“Did Lord Ghetsis order her to be at the meeting?”

“No. He is quite busy at the current time, so I had no reason to bother him with it. Why?”

“I have authorization to override you on matters such as this. Lady Anthea is in no shape to be attending meetings currently.”

“How dare you! I am a sage, and I said-”

“ENOUGH! I GAVE YOU AN ORDER, AND I EXPECT IT TO BE FOLLOWED!” The sage bowed slightly, fearing the man in front of him. He scurried off. Irving turned toward Anthea, who was starting to cough harder. He ran over to her. “Shh. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled. It’ll all be fine.” A trickle of blood came out of her mouth. He pulled out his rag and wiped her face.

“I wish this would not be an issue. I wish to kiss you, but the blood in my mouth makes that rather imprudent.”

“It is fine.” He softly kissed her lips. He could taste the blood, but didn’t care. Anthea was nice to kiss, and she needed it badly. She held his face as they kissed, her dainty touch on his cheek. She pulled back and looked her lover in the face.

“Love, you are hurt. What happened?”

“Your father hit me. I got back from Nimbasa, and he questioned why I wasn’t in uniform. I told him I was off duty, and he hit me full force.”

“This is unacceptable! I will talk to him immediately!” She got up, but he stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

“No. You don’t need to take any more beatings.”

“I will anyway.”

“No. I will take them for you. You cannot continue to receive them.”

“I… don’t want this for you. Why do you stay with me? I will die from my heart. Nothing can change that.” She cried softly.

“I have made a vow to stay with you. Maybe you are destined for that fate. But I will not let you walk it alone.” He ruffled her pink hair. “Besides, that’s what I’m here for right? To serve you? I can do a lot for you. I can help you in day to day activities, teaching, keeping your spirits up. I can keep you boosted, and I can pleasure you.” She tapped his lips as if to tell him ‘thank you’ before calming herself. She grabbed clothes and made a motion to follow her. She made certain the door was locked and went into the bathroom. She wanted to take a bath to relax herself. She turned on the water and motioned for Irving to come in. 

“I may appreciate privacy, but you seeing me is of little consequence.” He sat down, looking at her as she pulled her dress off. “Have you talked to Concordia recently?”

“No. She and I have only exchanged words once in the past.”

“I see. Ghetsis has decided to line up suitors for her. They are all powerful men. Concordia does not wish to be wed to any of them, but it will help us rebuild, so she is being forced to.”

“Are you mad at N for taking all of the money?”

“Ghetsis was a fool. N did leave something. He left money in case Plasma fell to pieces and I needed to get medication. He also left some money for use in helping the children. It seems I may need to use it soon. In person schooling begins again soon, and I cannot do it by myself anymore.”

“Anthea darling, I’m right here. My sister was an education major before she died. I will help with the schooling.” Anthea dipped herself into the water.

“You are off two of five days we are in session.”

“Not anymore.”

“Ghetsis has barred anyone from overtime for the moment unless it is necessary. You will not be paid for it.”

“I just won’t clock in. It’ll be fine. Besides, that way you can save the money in case a child needs food or the like.” Anthea closed her eyes.

“Thank you dear. Perhaps we could go somewhere in the near future?”

“Did you have something specific in mind?”

“I have heard that there is to be a festival 13 day from today.”

“So I’ve heard. Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Irving, I refuse to sit back and do nothing with the little time I have. Besides, as long as I’m careful, I’ll be fine.” She held her hand out and Irving took it.

“Okay. I’ll schedule a vacation day for then. What do you think will be there?”

“I do not know. There is some kind of parade through the city though. I have always loved parades so. They are loud, but not stressful. They have always infatuated me.” He squeezed her hand.

“Maybe getting out will do you some good. What should we wear that day?”

“I will wear a dress. They are comfortable, and they make me look nice.”

“Well, they don’t make you look nice, they add to the nice look you already have!” She smiled.

“I take it you’re enjoying the view?”

“Yes. That isn’t the only thing though.”

“Were it not quite so much an issue if it were true, I would say my heart was racing with enthusiasm.”

“Then let's be glad your heart isn’t racing shall we?” She nodded and opened her eyes.

“May I have the conditioner?”

“Here you go.” The young man thought for a moment. “Anthea?”

“Yes Irving?’

“What do we do if Ghetsis finds out about us?”

“I do not know. It is probable whatever his reaction would be, it would be too much, and my heart would stop functioning with any degree of correctness.”

“But I don’t want that to happen. I swore an oath to myself, and I won’t break it, but what if it gets you hurt?” She put the conditioner into her pink hair.

“If it does, it does.” She kind of accepted that part of life. She didn’t want it, but she really had no choice. Irving thought about it.

‘That man said that N was with the Hero. Would she do anything about it? Where would I even find them? I thought I had gotten somewhere earlier, but now there are just more questions. Is the girl really the Hero? Why did we never hear about it before? If she’s with N, she must follow his ideal, but why did he leave Plasma?’ Anthea dipped her head underwater to wash out the conditioner and when she came back up, she sat for a minute. The water was nice. Warm. Relaxing. She rose to full height. Irving handed her a towel and the two exited the bathroom, letting the tub drain. Anthea got dressed and dried her hair. She brushed it, getting it into normal fashion.

“Come.” She walked out of the room with him in tow. She had grabbed a list of some sort, but he didn’t know what was on it. He followed her downstairs. Some grunts saluted her, and she stopped at one of them. “May I ask a favor?”

“Yes ma’am?”

“I would like you to go ask the doctor for an emergency aid kit and a pair of defibrillators.”

“Ma’am, does someone need medical attention?”

“No. It is a precautionary measure for later. Tell him I need them within the next 11 days.”

“Yes ma’am.” The grunt ran off, a look of confusion filling his face. They continued walking for a bit.

“May I ask why you need those?”

“To make sure that if something goes wrong, you will be able to help me.” She handed him the list. “And be packed for at least a week. I know not for how long we will be staying.” He nodded. He looked at the list. It was just a list of basic things most everyone traveled with. Except for the medical items. They walked into a large room, the meeting filled with silence. It was obvious an argument had just occurred. One of the sages spoke up.

“Ah, Admin! I would request you tell these fine ladies just how out of reach their goals are at the current time!” He shook his head.

“Give me a report, and we’ll see.” He flipped through the report. Anthea was sort of concerned, so she didn’t look. It was about the schools. “Permission to speak freely?” 

“Granted.” It was Ghetsis. He and another sage walked in. The Admin nodded, looking back at the report.

“The way the sages want to go about it is inefficient at best. Cutting funding for the schools isn’t going to work. We have lost enough members. Yes, we need funding for other things, but the social services are what is getting us new members right now. Besides, we have enough going on there currently.” Ghetsis spoke up.

“So, what exactly do you propose in exchange Admin?”

“Sir, I’m not an expert…”

“I am aware. I am asking your opinion.”

“Yes my lord. I would say that we need to focus on getting morale up. It may not seem like it, but it attracts new people when they both agree with us and see the people they agree with being happy.” Ghetsis considered for a moment.

“Anthea.”

“Yes my lord?”

“I assume your assistant will be helping you when you return to your duties?”

“Yes. He will be assisting.” One of the sages interjected.

“He cannot. It would reflect badly for us to have someone like him as an assistant teacher. No offense Admin, but Lady Anthea doesn’t need untrained people.” Anthea glared daggers at the sage.

“You will speak in that manner ever again. He has experience with children, and that is what I need. You have not the slightest clue what is required to run the classrooms. I will get assistance from whoever, whenever I deem it necessary. This meeting is out of the sages’ control. The Goddesses deal with social services within Team Plasma. I may not be at my greatest, but you in no way have a say in this.”

“I meant no disrespect Lady Anthea, I just wish to express concern that he is better suited for other duties.”

“Let me once again say, he is my assistant. Your concern does not matter in the slightest to me. He has what I need, and he has proven to be quite focused and effective. In addition, he has a very impressive resume. In the time he has been under my command, he has shown that he has quite the skillset, and that he commands respect from the grunts and other Admins. If he is the one that can do what I feel others cannot, I do not care what you think about it.” Venom dripped off of her words. She grabbed the report in front of her, her anger toward the subject showing in her movements. “In addition, what you’re pulling the funding for does not solve current problems. We cannot in any way make any sort of move until we have sufficient numbers. What exactly do your experiments contribute toward our numbers?” Silence. Ghetsis was smiling. His daughter and her Admin friend had made the entire room go silent. From respect, from fear. It was all the same. The admin put his finger on her neck.

“Lady Anthea, perhaps you should leave it at that for now.”

“My heart rate isn’t that high.”

“No, but it is continuing to rise steadily. Either way, we have other things to get done.”

“Admin, she is in a meeting.”

“Yes sage, but we weren’t planning on going to this meeting. She had work to do before she took leave for a few days.” Ghetsis spoke up.

“I hope you aren’t letting her do this alone. We have enough of a gap in Plasma without one of our leaders being dead.” The Admin looked Ghetsis in the eye. He almost managed to conceal his hatred for the man in his next words.

“No. Sir.” He chuckled at the Admin’s obvious irritation.

“Good. I expect you will be back not long after you leave?”

“I do not think we have a timespan as of yet. I will begin as she works on the children’s studies.” Ghetsis chuckled once more. 

“Very well. You two are dismissed.” The two walked out. Anthea tried to punch the wall, but she was stopped by Irving.

“ARGH! WHY DOES EVERYONE QUESTION MY ABILITY TO MAKE DECISIONS?! IT’S HEART DISEASE, NOT A BRAIN TUMOR!” She put her head to the wall and started to cry gently. She hated that everyone seemed to think she was worthless just because of her illness.


	22. Change and Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touko is mentored by the reunited Legendary Beasts, and Aurora learns things about its past that make it change its idea of what its creator is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once more! Sorry for the long wait! I had started to write a bit ahead, and the way the story was panning out was just awful, so I went back to this point! And I've been sort of trying to re-write the story for the better part of the past month, while still keeping up with everything else! I hope you enjoy!

Touko gave a small, sad wave to N and her family. 3 months had passed. Her now husband was going to gain the trust of Zekrom. She had proven her suspicions right about him being the rightful Hero of Ideals. She had convinced him that she knew it was his mantle to take, and not her own. But she was going off on her own journey. Far off, deep in the Johto region. There, she knew what awaited. The legendary beasts that had been created years prior. Aurora had told her that it was time to face her fears. And that no matter what, Touko would have the beast by her side. She got on Reshiram, and the group blasted through the sky.

Touko remembered just how cold it was in Azalea Town the moment she stepped foot there. But she had someone she wanted to see. She knocked on old man Kurt’s door, and the gruff man opened it.

“I’m busy, young lady.”

“I w-wanted to ask you if you remembered a Touko White?”

“Yeah. Quiet girl. Got caught in that damn tower when it collapsed.” He paused. “Well, I’ll be. Looks like our little legendary collector is all grown up.” Touko gave a small smile. He invited her in. Kurt had always been nice to her. She had been really scared when Team Rocket had shown back up, but he protected her. 

“It’s nice to be back here. But Unova is so much warmer.”

“How is Unova? I hear there’s been trouble there.”

“Yup. I’m in the middle of it. It’s weird. Sorta hard to explain. But it’s a mess over there. By the way, do you know any good places to get married? My boyfriend is making it pretty obvious that he wants to.”

“Damn. You tell Red?”

“Yeah. Needless to say, he was not incredibly happy with the thought. He’s pretty damn protective.” Touko messed with her scarf some. “Anything interesting happen while I’ve been gone?”

“Oh, it’s only been… nine years? Don’t worry, you couldn’t possibly have missed THAT much.” Touko rolled her eyes. The two had a light laugh. “Not really. Oak is being Oak. Red is kicking Blue down the mountain. Leaf is hopelessly in love with Red, despite him being absolutely clueless about it.”

“Huh. Never would have guessed that Red had someone hounding him.”

“And the best part is that he doesn’t even know it!”

Touko climbed up the mountain. Mt. Silver. The tallest mountain in either Kanto or Johto. And the place in which she would be working to deal with her fears. She knew she was already scared. The thought of even getting CLOSE to the other beasts made her feel like a toddler was playing rearrange with her internal organs. She was hurried along by Aurora, who made sure she progressed with quite a bit of pep in her step.

“If you do not get up to the top today, you will not be able to get down in time. And as such, you will not be able to see N over your Xtranciever.”

“R-right. Straight to the top.” Touko quickly climbed. She was quite good at that. Her sword got in the way some, but not enough to make her mind too much. When she got to the top, she held out her arms. Heights. One of the things Touko loved. She took a deep breath, exhaling the cold, crisp air back out. She jumped down from the rock. “Man, am I glad that Red’s off with Blue on the expedition! It would be so freaking awkward to come up here and be like ‘get off the rock, Red!’ Can you imagine?”

“Yes. You would do that. Exactly like that.” Aurora sat down. “Are you ready?”

“Hmm. If I say no, I won’t get to talk to N tonight. If I say yes, I have a panic attack.” Touko seemed to weigh the options. “Okay! Let me put the blindfold on, and then we can get started!” Touko pulled out her blindfold. It was meant to completely catch light, and it very much did just that. Raikou and Entei jumped up behind Suicune.

“It is good to see you again, Suicune.”

“9 years, and you didn’t visit us once!” Entei pushed Raikou to the side.

“Come now. You know I have been preoccupied. And for the record, I prefer Aurora.” The two other beasts looked at each other, confusion filling their faces. They weren’t expecting Suicune, who was proud of its name, to prefer anything else.

“Oookay then.”

“Well, shall we get started?”

“Yes. That would be quite ideal, given that Touko is shaking.” Suicune gently grabbed Touko’s wrist, dragging her over to the others. “How do you feel?”

“Like my stomach is learning to fly…” Aurora shook its head.

“The first step toward healing is to show yourself very slowly that you CAN face your fear. Which do you wish to start with? Fire? Or lightning?” Touko seemed to consider.

“L-let’s go with fire. I-I have Reshiram, and that’s what makes the most sense.”

“Very well. Raikou, if you would, go off for now.”

“Sure! That means she can look forward to having the fun one second! Good luck, kid!” Raikou jumped off, leaving the area. Entei rose to his full height. Nearly 7 feet tall, enormously muscular, and theoretically capable of holding a Regi in place. Though, that had never been tested. The pokemon was very scary to the regular people who saw him, even if it did inspire awe. Entei moved toward Touko, sitting down only about 2 feet away from her. Aurora circled around the two for a second, deciding what to do next.

“Touko, hold out your hand.” Touko shakily did as she was told. She trusted her friend, even though she was terrified of what was in front of her. She touched Entei, noting just how warm the pokemon was. She was torn between wanting to pet Entei, and wanting to run in absolute terror. She decided she had better go with the first option, since she wanted to get it over with as fast as possible. She scratched the large pokemon, doing the same things Aurora liked. It fell over, enjoying the young woman’s gentle petting. Touko couldn’t help but giggle. She didn’t know why, since she was so close to the source of her fear. 

Touko sat on her bed. It had been nearly three weeks, and she was getting better about fire. She knew she was never going to be 100% okay with it. But she figured she could at least get over her fear most of the way. She called N, and he picked up immediately. He raised an eyebrow at Touko’s appearance. She looked like she had been dragged through dirt. She had several cuts, and seemed to have cried a lot. But she was smiling brightly, and that made him a bit less concerned.

“Hi, N!”

“Hello, my dear. I take it you had an interesting day?”

“Yeah! You could say that! Today was terrifying! We were using campfires to help me get through some stuff! Entei said that the plan for tomorrow would be to get me used to using fire type moves! We agreed to start small! I don’t even have to wear the blindfold with Entei anymore!” N chuckled. Touko had been so much brighter since she had started. Even if she was being put in situations she wouldn’t have been able to handle before. 

“Well, I have been struggling to gain the trust of Zekrom. He is being particularly hard to work with. But I will soon awaken him. He seems to just be a bit… different.”

“Well, you should come over when you get it all figured out! After all, my boyfriend shouldn’t be made to just hang out by himself! It’d be a dick move!” N smiled.

“Well. I certainly have missed you. But Plasma is around, and if you are there, I need to keep pressure on them. When you get back, I have something planned for you. But in the meantime, you have made good progress. Before, you would not have even looked at fire without having issues. Soon, you will be ready to command Reshiram. I would say that is most impressive.” The two made conversation for a little bit, then said their goodbyes, since Touko was starting to doze off. N wanted to keep talking to her, but she was pretty much asleep when she said to have a good night.

Touko woke up in the morning, feeling refreshed. She plugged in her Xtranciever, and then went to go take a shower. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to be using fire type moves in a battle. She grabbed her stuff and put it in her bag. Then she shook Aurora awake. The legendary gave a stretch, a yawn, then got up.

“Wakey wakey!”

“Five more minutes.”

“Wakey! Wakey!” Touko threw out Shell and Zorro, who basically picked up their friend. Then, Aurora just sort of plunked back down. Touko sighed. “Dude, it’s already ten thirty! We need to get going!” Aurora gave a small sigh, picking itself off the ground. For being a month into this, it wasn’t used to getting up like that.

“If I had my teddy bears, I would throw one at you.”

“No you wouldn’t. You’re too lazy for that.” Aurora scoffed.

“Please. You lay on N so that he cannot get up at a decent hour.”

“It’s called snuggling! And I’m not ON him at all! I mean, sometimes I get on top of him if he’s ignoring me, but other than that, I don’t!”

“Oh, yes. And that usually goes places.”

“Yeah? Get your head out of the gutter. We have sex every now and then, but not THAT often.”

“You two quite literally had intercourse as you watched a documentary.”

“Dude, it was BORING! How do you make a documentary about Emolga BORING?!”

“You make a documentary. About Emolga.” Touko sighed. She knew Elesa had an Emolga, and had always sort of liked the pokemon. She much preferred Cinccino though, and she was plenty content with Elpis. The group quickly ate breakfast, then started up the mountain to continue what they were doing.

Touko was sort of getting the hang of not cowering in fear at a tiny pokemon shooting a few flames. Reshiram had fallen asleep, so Aurora jumped on his back. He shot up.

“You should make a conscious effort for your trainer’s sake. You’ve been asleep for millenia. Wake up and stay up.”

“Were you not the one complaining about sleep this morning?”

“I was. But that was then, and this is now. She is about halfway down the line. It will be your turn soon.”

“It will be completely dark outside by the time she gets to me. She cannot just… do this in a day.”

“Do not be so sure. She is quite strong willed.”

“This is not up for debate. But she looks like she needs a break. Perhaps you and your friend could let her rest for the day? She is shaking quite hard.”

“For someone with no patience, you are quite the waiting type.”

:It is not that I don’t have patience. I am quite patient. But this waiting is pointless. She will not learn anything from doing it all in one day. Frankly, she is starting to block stimuli from the looks of it. I understand your want to help her. You have seen her flinch at the tiniest flame for nearly a decade. But this? With every bit of experience the two of us have, we are not that fast of teachers. It defies logic.” Aurora stared for a second. Then the pokemon sighed.

“I suppose I have been pushing too hard the last few days. I just… no longer wish her to fear trainers who have fire and lightning at their disposal. She has suffered enough.” The legendary turned without another word, going over to its friend. “That is enough for today.”

“O-okay. C-can I sit down?”

“Yes. Rest for a few minutes. You have earned it.” Touko plopped down. She was crying. Partly out of fear, partly out of disappointment. 

“Why is it that I can’t make it anywhere? I’m able to command a fire type. But I don’t feel like I’ve made progress today. I mean, not even a little bit. Three weeks, and I’ve made good progress. But then this comes along, and I realize that I’ve effectively made it nowhere.” She wiped her eyes. Aurora sat down next to her.

“I have been pushing too hard. I was sure that if we just got it done quickly, it would not be so hard. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. You are lacking the people you care about for moral support. We can only do so much.” Touko shook her head.

“No. That’s not it. I’ve had less support before. I just need to… focus. It’s not you, Reshiram, Entei, Raikou, Elpis, Zorro, or Shell. It’s just me being dumb.”

“As much as you may feel that to be the truth, Reshiram and I talked about it. He has come to this conclusion, and he is more experienced than either of us. Come. You have not eaten all day. And you are probably dehydrated.” Touko used Aurora to drag herself up. Aurora was right. She hadn’t eaten. She had actually lost some weight, just because the thought of fire had made her lose her appetite a lot. They went to the store, getting stuff for a stew. She ate a lot more than she would have thought. She realized that she was indeed very, very hungry. She slept on the couch, since it seemed to be less effort. She felt incredibly weak. Elpis jumped up behind her.

“Why don’t you call N?”

“I’m too tired to hold a meaningful conversation with anyone. What’m I supposed to say? ‘Hey honey! I called you just so I could say hi before promptly falling asleep!” Touko shook her head as she pulled her covers up to her chin. “No. Besides. It’s super late there. And I’m not gonna wake him up for that.”

Touko sat and watched the sunrise. One week had passed, and she figured that was sufficient enough break. But something odd happened as she went through the day. She was absolutely terrified, but that wasn’t the strange thing. The thing that confused her was that she was having fun. She didn’t feel quite as sick when she looked at the immense amount of flame around her. In fact, she was sort of enjoying it. She looked about. Reshiram was the only pokemon left for her to use for the day. 

“Reshiram, do you see that tree over there with that? The one with the dead branches that has nothing around it?”

“Yes. But what does that have to do with-”

“Use Fusion Flare on it.” Everything stopped and looked at Touko, who seemed to be waiting. “Could you do it before I change my mind, please?” Reshiram obeyed, and gathered energy up. It was a very large tree. Long dead. Reshiram shot a massive blast of fire forward, exploding it into thousands of pieces. He looked over to Touko. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Th-that wasn’t all that bad…” Reshiram smiled. Those words made all the waiting worth it.

Touko flinched as Raikou danced about in the large cave, electricity bouncing around and created a beautiful, almost mosaic like texture on the strange rocks. They reflected everything around them. They were slightly bluish, and sparked when struck by electricity. Touko was amazed by it all. She felt oddly at peace, despite what was around her. She got lost staring at the reflections. Something about it reminded her about N. She missed him. It had been several months, and he had barely been able to find time to talk to her. He did on occasion, and the two cherished those moments. But they wanted to be able to embrace each other again. Watch a movie, go to the musicals, or even just sit next to each other. Touko’s Xtranciever rang, and she answered it. It was her mom.

“Hey, Touko! I had a question for ya!”

“Sure.”

“Do you prefer amethyst, or do you prefer emerald?”

“Depends.”

“In general!”

“Probably emerald. Green is my favorite color. Like N’s hair. Speaking of N, is he close by?”

“Yeah. He’s pretty frustrated right now. That dragon just refuses to cooperate.” Touko shook her head.

“Can I talk to him?”

“Sure. Give me a second.” Her mom’s Xtranciever flipped around before being given to N. He looked pleasantly surprised by Touko.

“It is nice to see you after the frustrating afternoon I have had. Zekrom is being rather irritating today. He has decided that he will play ‘strongman’ some more. Did you have any tips, perhaps? I would like to get SOMETHING done in the time you are gone.”

“Well, not really. Reshiram is sitting outside the cave, so I can’t even really ask him.”

“Cave?”

“Yeah.” Touko turned toward Raikou. “Shock everything again!”

“You got it boss!” The entire room lit up. It was obvious Touko didn’t enjoy it at first, but slowly became a little less tense as she showed N the spectacular stones that seemed to whip electricity around them.

“That is… incredible. I wish I was there to see it in person.”

“Maybe we can come back here together sometime! I promise I won’t freak out on you!” N chuckled.

“I look forward to it. Call me sometime. Maybe we can even catch each other at an opportune time.”

“Love you!”

“I love you too.” Touko hung up the call, looking at Raikou.

“We should get back to it. I have someone I want to make proud.”

Touko was forced to get only a few inches from the floor before getting pulled back. But she could smell the ozone produced by the electricity that was there. She forced her eyes open, thinking about all she had to gain. She was dropped into the floor after about the dozenth time. She had to stop for the rest of the week because the pain was awful, and then the numbness set in. She tried to get Aurora to let her go back, but Aurora gave her a firm no. The beast didn’t like seeing Touko suffer. And the electricity had forced a scream out of the young woman that reminded Aurora of the suffering in the tower. Not just Touko’s. Also its own. What fuzzy memories it did have of the tower made it seem to remember not being alone in the flames. And whatever the pokemon used to be had something important with it. The pokemon tried to shake the thought. 

‘A ridiculous thought. Whatever it is that I may or may not have had is unimportant now. Just as it is unimportant of what I once was. For now, I am different.’

Aurora spent the next few weeks constantly having questions that it didn’t understand the answers for popping into its head. It slept less well every night, until Touko’s nightmares woke her up once again. The legendary’s master had less horrendous nightmares on the whole, even if Munna was still something of a bad dream for her. So she would often just sort of wake up, then try to fall back asleep. No screams, no crying. It was more peaceful. Aurora got up and walked over to its friend.

“Touko?”

“Aurora…? Why are you up…?”

“I have been thinking about things. I… wish to speak about them with you. If you don’t mind.”

“Sure. Just gimme a sec.” Touko got out of bed. She damn near fell over. “Whaddya wanna talk about?”

“The tower.”

“What about it?”

“Well, it’s less about the tower, really. More… about me. Have you ever felt as though you are missing parts of a story you had memorized years prior? Or perhaps that you have part of a past that no one knows?”

“Are you experiencing Deja Vu?”

“No. It is not familiar to me. But something about the way you screamed when you were dropped into the static field. It seemed almost… natural. Like I’d heard it before.”

“So. Deja vu. What is there you are finding strange about it?”

“Well, it is out of my memory. So that means it has to do with my past life. But what does it mean? I have never been bothered by it. But I haven’t been able to get it out of my head recently. Almost as if it is drawing me back. It is almost magnetic in some way.” Touko raised an eyebrow. But then it looked like an idea hit her.

“Hey, would Ho Oh know anything about your past?”

“Perhaps.”

“Okay, so all we need to do is ask Ho Oh!”

Touko, along with Raikou, Entei, and her team, were going to the Bell Tower. She was a bit shaky, but not exactly scared. She boarded the train, with everyone at the small station being in awe at the group. The three sat around, just waiting for the ride to reach its destination. Touko was bored. There was nothing to do because the point of the train was to clear your mind before you went to the Bell Tower. So she went over to Entei, who didn’t look to be having the most pleasant trip. 

“Whatcha doing?”

“How do humans ride these awful things?” Touko smiled.

“It’s just a bit of motion sickness. It’ll clear up when we get off. Hey, do you like spicy food?”

“Of course! Anyone who doesn’t is lacking in taste!” Shell popped his head up.

“I HEARD THAT, YOU OVERSIZED BALL OF FUZZ!” Touko laughed as Entei just looked freaked out. Because that had come out of nowhere. No warning, just an immediate response of anger from the pokemon that had looked to be sleeping.

“Anyway, have you tried hot wings?”

“No, I do not believe so.”

“Well. That’s gonna change.” The train suddenly stopped, throwing Touko to the floor. She got up. “The hell was that? By Arceus, that was jarring.” Zorro walked over to the door.

“Hey! Look! It’s the tower!” The doors slid open, and everyone got out. They looked at the tower in awe. It was massive, easily one of the tallest places Touko had ever seen. It was surrounded by trees that were almost as tall as it. Touko swallowed her anxiety, then went into the massive building. She took a few pictures, looking around in every single room. Aurora sort of wanted to get it all over with, but she was more than happy to see Touko exploring history. Slowly but surely, they made their way to the top of the building. At the top, the group had to be put in their pokeballs to get to Ho Oh. Touko snapped a picture of the massive bird so she could show everyone later. But it was just staring at her. It made her pretty damn uncomfortable. She shifted a bit.

“Heya! I’m Touko! I’m the one that Aur-” She stopped herself. “Suicune left with. I came here to ask you something.”

“Really now?”

“Yeah!” The pokemon was caught off guard. It didn’t think this human girl would be able to understand its speech. More than anything, it was curious.

“Very well. What answers do you seek? Where to find power? Wealth? Fame?”

“Nah. I was just gonna ask you about my friend’s past. Suicune doesn’t remember anything from back then. But they swear that they can recollect something important. They just can’t figure out what it is. It’s really bothering them.” The phoenix pokemon chuckled. Then started to laugh. “Hey! What’s so funny?! I want to help my friend!” But the pokemon continued to laugh. Touko got frustrated. She threw out Reshiram. “SHUT THE FUCK UP AND ANSWER ME, YOU FUCKING DRUMSTICK!” Ho Oh’s laughter stopped. Reshiram didn’t look particularly happy. In fact, he looked right about ready to kill Ho Oh. Ho Oh took a deep breath.

“My apologies. I did not realize-”

“ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTIONS!” Touko threw out Aurora, wanting the pokemon to hear the answer. Ho Oh sighed.

“Very well. Yes, I do know what Suicune was before. She was a Vaporeon. And yes, she did have something with her. More accurately, someone. Her child. All three of them belonged to a trainer. The pokemon with her was a baby Eevee. It was buried beneath the rubble.” There was silence for what seemed like an eternity. Aurora looked like it had a great deal of disbelief.

“If I was a female, why have you always called me it, they, or the like?”

“Because. It separated you from an old life in which you no longer had. Perhaps it would be prudent to give you some of your memory back.” Aurora suddenly collapsed, and Touko rushed to her side.

“Aurora! Are you okay?!”

“Y-yes. What is this?” Aurora tried to shake the feelings of utter despair from her system. “WHY? WHY DIDN’T YOU HELP HIM!” Aurora shot up with rage in her eyes. “YOU BROUGHT ME BACK, BUT NOT THE ONE WHO I CARED ABOUT?!”

“He served no purpose.” The entire area fell silent. Aurora looked like she was about to cry. Reshiram was absolutely dumbfounded. This wasn’t the Ho Oh he remembered. The other three came out of their pokeballs, since there was plenty of space after they had gotten up to the roof. Raikou and Entei jumped up behind the group, having heard it all. Touko snarled at the pokemon.

“For someone who has power over life and death, you sure have no regard for it! What a grand pokemon! C’mon guys. We’re leaving.” Touko and Aurora were the first to turn, walking away. The rest of her’s soon followed. Raikou and Entei jumped off the tower with Reshiram, much to the surprise of everyone. Reshiram growled.

“What do you lot want? Your master has hurt our friend!”

“We did not know. We wish to come with you. Touko is a good person. None of us would mind following her.” Touko looked to Aurora, who just sat and stared into the distance. Touko placed her hand on the pokemon’s head. Then she looked at the other two beasts. She knew how Aurora felt. She felt betrayed, forgotten, and lied to. Touko took a deep breath, thinking about all the times that Aurora had been there for her. How when Touko felt like she was drowning in the world, Aurora would give her a place to go. And she would give Touko the choices she had. She wanted to do the same thing her friend had done all those times. She shook her head.

“It isn’t up to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“It isn’t up to me. I won’t stress out Aurora any more than she already has be-” She stopped herself again. “She’s already had a shocking day. So why don’t we ask her?” They all looked to Aurora, who was staring at the ground and shaking. Touko walked over, rubbing her friend’s back.

“My child… Hidden from me for so long…”

“Shh. It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.” Touko wasn’t really sure what to do. She wasn’t used to Aurora crying. In fact, she had never seen Aurora cry. But for some reason, it made her like the pokemon more. Aurora stood back up to full height, taking a deep breath.

“I am sorry. Raikou. Entei. But I cannot bear to have the reminder near me constantly. It is worse than I ever imagined it would be to learn of my past.” The two beasts looked at each other. Then back at Aurora.

“Very well. Should you need us, we will eagerly await you atop Mt. Silver.” Entei turned to Touko. “As for you, young lady. You are charged with something far bigger than yourself. You have come far. You have a certain flair. Never forget that.” Touko nodded. She placed her hand on Aurora’s neck.

“I won’t. C’mon, Aurora. It’s time to go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm not really sure, but I might start uploading a different FerrisWheelShipping story that I've already finished to punctuate long absences of me posting this! I'm not sure, but I'm thinking I should probably get an upload schedule going.


	23. Zekrom!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New character! Rosa! A grunt who doesn't know who she is or what she wants to be! That sounds really depressing for exclamation marks...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope everyone enjoys!

Concordia got out of the armored car that her, Ghetsis, and the rest of Team Plasma’s leadership had been in. Anthea had elected to stay at the castle, since she didn’t feel well. They were there to inspect the tower, and make certain that it was inaccessible to anyone but them. Concordia tapped on her wrist impatiently as the group went up to the tower’s base. One of the other Goddesses put their hand on her shoulder.

“Lady Concordia, what troubles you?”

“It is almost as if someone is waiting for us. I just cannot shake the feeling. It is odd. But I feel like someone I know is near.”

“Worry not. I am sure that you are simply imagining it. After all, why would anyone be at this place? How would they be? To access the tower, one would need to blast a hole into the walls. I suppose they could also fly. But why would random people do that, and then just wait for us?” Several Plasma grunts set explosives along the walls. They blew it open, and the leadership went through. Concordia was amazed at what was around her. She wished N had been there. He would have loved the glyphs, the legends. But he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly the tower began to shake. Everyone was knocked to the floor as they tried to get out of the tower. But then, it stopped.Just like that. Ghetsis cursed.

“That child is here. I suppose that would make him Zekrom’s hero, wouldn’t it? Intriguing. But it is too late for him. We will soon control him, just as we did before.” Ghetsis pulled himself to his feet. Concordia knew he was talking about N. But she didn’t like the way he said control. She shook it off, knowing full well of how strange her father’s mannerisms were. She was helped up by a grunt. She gave the girl who helped her up a light smile, and the girl blushed. Concordia didn’t know why, but it made her feel very nice to see this girl blush at her like that. She shook it off.

“Thank you. I don’t think I know your name.”

“My name is Rosa, ma’am. I’m new to Team Plasma.”

“Well. It is nice to meet you.” Ghetsis growled.

“Grunt!” Rosa flinched. Concordia felt awful when she saw just how fearful the girl was.

“Y-yes sir?”

“Lead the group, in case any more surprises come up!”

“O-of course, sir.” She scurried off. The group started moving again, with Rosa now leading the group. As they got into the tower’s main section, it got very dark. Rosa pulled out a flashlight, but it wouldn’t turn on. “Please turn on. Why are you broken now?” She sighed, throwing out a pokemon.

“Emolga, do you mind lighting up the stuff around here, please?” 

“Molga!” The pokemon used Flash, glowing like a lantern.

“Thanks, little guy.” Rosa put her pokemon into her hood, then continued with the group. Concordia thought it was quite cute, but Ghetsis seemed to be irritated by their new light source. Concordia decided to defuse the situation by talking to the grunt. She didn’t know if it would work, but she wanted to talk to the grunt anyway.

“Hello!”

“Did you need something ma’am?” Concordia laughed. She had made Rosa jump.

“Apologies. I am terrible at starting conversations. Anthea is much better at it. Have you met my sister? She has pink hair, and wears colorful dresses?”

“Yeah. She hangs around my admin a lot.”

“They are close.” Rosa muttered that they were a lot closer than Concordia probably thought. “What was that, dear?”

“Oh, nothing! Just… sort of freaking out! I’m not good with places like this!” Concordia smiled. She thought this girl was cute in a sort of jumpy way.

“Well, believe me when I tell you that it is very similar to some of the command staff. We jump at every little thing like they are somehow the end of the world!” Rosa looked like she was trying not to smile. And that made Anthea giggle out loud.

Ghetsis was irate. Several tremors, and now a climb. They had to get equipment into place, and it would take several hours. Meanwhile, Concordia was sitting next to a grunt, almost like she was testing the waters for going further. The grunt looked like she was enjoying it.

‘Idiotic child. I already have one who has run off due to some love affair. I do not need another.’ Ghetsis’ thoughts were consumed with rage. He didn’t know that Concordia was the only one NOT in a relationship. He never would have guessed that Anthea was having sex with her assistant, taking advantage of the absence of their peers to enjoy themselves with no restriction. To him, that would be absurd. He had never even thought about the possibility as anything but ridiculous. So it made him frustrated as hell when he saw his daughter, which he could have arranged a marriage for that would benefit Plasma, seeming to take interest in a girl. Something that most of the powerful houses frowned upon. And those were the ones he needed more of. Celebrities. Because celebrities brought more money than a single business relationship ever could. And he needed some to balance out the staunch disbelievers of Team Plasma. Elesa, the hero, Alder, Caitlin, and the Sinnoh champion: Cynthia. And because of the hero’s militant handling of it, they were seen as a threat by most everyone. That made recruitment difficult. As Ghetsis’ thoughts started to build, he saw a massive flash of lightning. Then his radio came on.

“Hello, father.” Ghetsis seethed. It was N. “What is taking you so long? Don’t you know that I have places to be?”

“You insolent child! Do you believe yourself above me?!”

“Yes. Because people who hurt others for power are ALWAYS below those who don’t. It doesn’t matter what that power is. Being a king, a murderer, or even something else. The reason you didn’t fly up here was because of an electric discharge, no? Well, I hope you will make it up here soon. After all, waiting is a waste of my time.”

“I WILL END YOU!”

“The only reason I haven’t collapsed this tower is because I wanted to see you face to face. Killing you would be just about as hard as it would be for my girlfriend to kill me. Come. We will speak face to face, just as we did before.” N’s voice went silent. Ghetsis growled, then he smashed his radio in his hand.

“GET THOSE DAMN BRIDGES UP! NOW!”

After about 20 minutes of people scurrying, the last bridge was put into place. The roof was now open. Concordia was a bit nervous. She wasn’t sure she was prepared for it all. Her brother, seeing how he had changed, seeing who he was now. She walked alongside her new friend, unsure if she wanted to hurry forward, or stay back. Rosa held out her hand.

“Do you wanna crush my hand to alleviate some stress?”

“That would be lovely, dear.” Concordia grabbed Rosa’s hand, holding it lightly.

“I said you could crush it. Not like I’m gonna die from a hurt hand.” Concordia nodded, tightening her grip. Rosa had a face of physical pain. But she didn’t say a word. She just accepted it, and moved on. As the group burst through the massive doors to the roof, they saw N, sitting on the edge of the tower’s wall. He smiled as he saw his sister walk up, holding a grunt’s hand.

“Hello, Concordia. I had not expected you to come. I would call this reunion touching, but circumstances prevent me from enjoying it.”

“N! I was so worried about you!”

“As was I about you. However, that worry cannot be allowed to interfere with the betterment of the world. Which is what father and I have to discuss.” Ghetsis growled.

“You have lost the right to call me ‘father’, boy.” N smiled gleefully.

“I figured you would say that. I'm not sure when I thought you would, but I knew you would. The only people I care about in my family are Anthea and Concordia. The rest? I honestly couldn’t care less.” N whistled, calling Zekrom to him. The Shadow Triad appeared next to Ghetsis. N frowned.

“For those who do not know the difference between stupidity and bravery, lies a quick path to ruin. Such is the case with you three.” Concordia stepped forward.

“What’s gotten into you?! We’re trying to help pokemon! Do you not care about them anymore?! Whoever twisted your mind so has made you turn against your friends!” N sighed.

“If only you knew, Concordia. My friend has shown me everything we are doing to hurt pokemon. Releasing pokemon has its merits. But so does letting them remain. My friend can hear them, just as I can. She commands the beasts of Johto, and the dragons of Unova. She cares for them more than she does herself. No. We are killing our friends. Not helping them. And the longer you stay away from the truth, the more it will hurt.” N held his hand out, his eyes pleading for Concordia to let him show her. She reached out, trusting N. But just as her hand was about to touch his, the Shadow Triad grabbed Concordia and threw her back. N snarled, and his Zoroark came out of its pokeball, taking a Triad member by the throat. Ghetsis and him stared across the tower.

“You! Acceptance of the truth is how we will build a better world! Not by ripping away what makes the world a good place! Why do you not understand?!” N stopped. Ghetsis smiled. “You do. You know. This is a bid for control. Nothing more.” Ghetsis’ shark smile was clear to N. “You have deceived me for too long! It is not ignorance on your part! Simply malice!” Ghetsis chuckled.

“Whether it is or isn’t, do you honestly expect me to just give up? Do you believe that you can take all of on at once? Your dragon is not at full strength.” N frowned. He knew Ghetsis was right. But just then, he heard a whistle. It pierced the air like an arrow, and it was sharper than any sword. A massive white flash was followed by a massive blast of blue fire that made everyone freak out. Ghetsis and the rest of the sages took a step back. Concordia, who had just managed to get back to her feet, twisted her ankle. Rosa shielded her from the flames, nearly getting touched by the blue fire. Everyone was in disarray. Then, Reshiram landed, and Touko jumped down.

“Get the hell away from my boyfriend, you fucking psycho!” Aurora jumped down behind her. Concordia found that she had wrapped her arms around Rosa, so she untangled herself. She tried to get up, but just fell again. Rosa pressed her to the floor, not wanting the Goddess to hurt herself. Rosa’s Emolga was terrified. But Touko just looked around. No orders were given. She was looking for Ghetsis. Reshiram roared.

“Damn it! We almost had him! I let him slip away!”

“Calm, Resh. That was a secondary thing.” Zekrom bellowed.

“Reshiram! It is very nice to see you!”

“Zekrom, not now. Though I will be very excited to speak to you again when we get somewhere else.” Reshiram looked at his master. She was standing there, staring at Concordia, who was being tended to by Rosa. Touko took a step forward.

“You must be Concordia. I’ve heard good things about you. That you care about the pokemon around you. Why are you here?”

“I… wished to see my brother again.” There was a gasp from the crowd of Plasma’s command staff. “If you idiots thought I was coming out here to serve any want but that, you are hardly as smart as you think you are.” Concordia sighed. “I think I broke my ankle. I have very frail bones.” Rosa dug through her bag.

“I think I have something to help with that. Give me a second.” Rosa pulled something out of her bag. “Are you ready?”

“For?” Rosa grabbed Concordia’s ankle, twisting it. She was clearly NOT ready for it, which caused her to whimper. Rosa put her into a brace.

“We don’t want it to heal funny. But we should probably get you somewhere else, so it doesn’t get infected.”

“Nothing about this is funny.”

“It’s a way people say wrong, or strange. C’mon, ma’am. We should get you to Plasma Castle.” Rosa stood up, knowing that N was regarding her coldly. She admittedly had the hots for N. She had joined a few months before he left. So seeing him next to Touko made her sort of well up with anger. And Touko noticed.

“There a problem, kid?” Rosa turned. Touko was wearing short shorts, and a sleeveless shirt. Rosa would have been loving the view, if she wasn’t jealous of Touko. And since she was bi, it wasn’t even regular jealousy. It wasn’t just because she was close to N, or because she looked good. It’s because Rosa wanted to be with Touko too. So she was jealous of N. But she didn’t want to dislike N, so she blamed it on the girl she wished she was more like. And that cycled. Rosa didn’t know what she was doing. She just knew that she was moving against her better judgement.

“Yeah! You think you’re so much better than everyone else, just cause you have a dragon! That you’re better in every way!” Touko raised an eyebrow. 

“Listen, you don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know enough! I know that you don’t deserve him! I know that you don’t deserve your looks! And I know that you’re a terrible person!” Touko turned to N, being so confused. He just shrugged, not knowing what she was on about.

“Dude, chill. I have done absolutely nothing to you. You sound like my aunt after she forgets her bipolar meds.” The girl nodded. That one sentence hit her like a truck going 90. Because she knew Touko was right, and that she had accurately guessed her issue without a second thought.

“Ookay then. Well, I’m going to go get the Goddess back to base. Because I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Rosa walked over to Concordia. “Ma’am, we should get going.”

“Wait.” N walked over to Concordia. He kneeled down. “I cannot show you the truth now, but I promise I will. It might take some convincing. But I will show you the evidence. For now, go home and rest. For what lies ahead is going to be far more exhausting than you know.”

“As you wish, brother. I will tell Anthea that you give her your regards.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her on the forehead, then let her be escorted down. N sighed as he looked at Touko, who was seething.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

Why not?”

“That girl. She was looking at you like she wished she was next to you instead. Then she insults me over my looks? Because I guess I don’t already have enough issues?” Touko sighed as N wrapped his arms around her.

“Well. At least you have some aptitude of fire under your belt. I suppose lightning as well?”

“Yeah. It took a bit. But I managed to… control my fear. It isn’t quite so bad now.”

Rosa sighed as she stared at the large modeling windows of all of the stores. She wished she had nice clothes like those. They seemed to attract attention. Say ‘hey, I’m over here!’ She had been avoiding the Goddesses for two weeks, ever since her little issues with Touko. She sighed, walking to her apartment. It was an 8 hour trip between there and Plasma Castle. But it was the one place she could be her. The goofy girl that loved to read, watch anime, and play D&D. She was recording a roll when there was a knock on the door. She sighed, going over to the thin door. Rosa opened it, stopping dead in her tracks. It was Concordia.

“Hello, Rosa. It is dreadfully humid out today. And very rainy. Do you mind if I come in?” Rosa panicked. All of her stuff was still a mess. She didn’t want the cute girl to think she was an absolute slob. But she knew she had no choice. She opened the door for her.

“It’s, uh, sort of a mess.”

“Don’t worry about it. Dungeons and Dragons, I see. A game for those who truly have good taste.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes. Anthea, N, and I all used to play it together. My strangest character was a potted plant. It was a plant that could not move on its own. So it had to rely on others to carry it around. It was quite slow at first. But soon, I managed to get its specific uses mastered.”

“You made everyone else carry you around, didn’t you?”

“Yes. My flower was quite the silver tongued devil.” Rosa kicked the table out of the way so that Concordia (who was on crutches) could sit down. She put some pillows on the couch so that the blonde could lay down and put her foot up. Then she made some hot cocoa. She stood, almost as if waiting for orders. “Why don’t you sit down next to me, dear? I promise that I don’t bite.” Rosa shakily sat down. Concordia pulled her close. It was odd, but Rosa liked it.

“I’m not sure we should be doing this…”

“I help make the rules on behavior between co workers. Does this make you uncomfortable?”

“No. I kinda like it. But I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“Please. I don’t think Anthea is going to go after me for indulging my curiosity.”

“Especially not since she’s dating an admin.”

“Pardon me?”

“How have you not figured this one out. She’s dating Admin Irving. At least, we’re pretty sure. Either that, or they’re just friends who hold hands, kiss when no one is looking, and have sex. But seriously. Aren’t you two like, super close?”

“Yes. But she had never told me that she was dating anyone. I mean, I did know they were close. But I did not think they were that close.”

“They are. I guess a couple guys were playing a prank on one of the sages when they passed by and heard the two’s muffled noises. To their credit, they’ve kept it hidden from Ghetsis. How? I dunno. I can’t even hide a cookie from that man, and she can be taking it from behind a few meters away from him, and still be okay.”

“You’re serious about this? Because that would be quite the story. Aut non est verum.”

“Huh?”

“It’s latin for true or not.”

“Oh. Well, yeah. I’m not kidding. It’s… weird. They seem to know that we know. And they seem to be trusting us not to tell Ghetsis. Oh, and I guess that’s why they weren’t at the tower. I guess she was feeling fine, and wanted a day to herself with him.” Concordia was silent for a second. “Ma’am? Are you angry?”

“No. Certainly not with you. I was just wondering if you would perhaps be willing to partake in a movie? I promise to not be too assertive.”

“Sure! I don’t have too many. But do you want to see the ones I do have?”

“I see no reason why not.”

Touko could feel how wet she was getting. They were in Nimbasa City, waiting for the Doubles train to arrive. She wanted to mount him, and she was gonna get what she wanted. She sat on his lap, undoing his belt. He frowned.

“Touko, there are people right over there.”

“But we haven’t done it since I got back…” N shook his head, chuckling. He re-clasped his belt, then he nuzzled her nose with his.

“You have fallen asleep every time, my silly little princess. And I do not have sex with you while you are asleep. For it does not seem fair or enjoyable to do so. Besides, would it not be better to make our first time in months more special then… a train station?”

“ Denique, te vincere.”

“I should learn some Latin. That way I could understand you when you decide to start spouting it.” Touko smiled, going in for a kiss. It was unbroken for a second. When she pulled back, N realized how much he missed her doing that. He had done nothing but attempt to resurrect Zekrom for two months. He realized how much more fun it would have been to have Touko in arm’s reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided that every couple of weeks or so, I'll release one entry in either Hero's Secret, or in a finished FerrisWheelShipping story I mentioned before. It'll flip flop, unless I get stuck on Hero's Secret. In which case, I'll stay with the other one until I get back on track!


End file.
